Inside This. Texas VV News. Texas State Council Meeting June 22-25, 2012 Denton, Texas. Stolen Valor Act Shot Down by High Court

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1 Member of the Texas Community Newspaper Association VVA Newspaper of the Year 2000, 2002 and 2003 Volume 24 Issue 1 Fall/Winter 2012 Texas State Council Meeting June 22-25, 2012 Denton, Texas TSC Officers re-elected for the term. Pictured, L-R: President Newberry, Vice President Don Kennedy, Secretary Kerwin Stone, Treasurer Jim W. Boyd being sworn in by Allen Manuel, VVA Region 7 Director. Thursday, June 21st A few VVA delegates and AVVA members from 28 of the 36 Texas VVA Chapters began arriving in Denton for the Summer Meeting of the VVA Texas State Council on Thursday, June 21st. VVA Chapter 137 Dallas member Bill Smith made reservations at the Olive Garden for eleven (11) of those members. When it came time to pay the bill, the server announced that a regular customer had seen everyone enter and he paid for everyone s meal. The rest of the delegates arrived Friday New Veterans Resource Center Dallas, Texas The Dallas VA Medical Center through the Department of Veterans Affairs has purchased the former Army Reserve Armory at 4900 S. Lancaster Road, which is located two blocks south of the Dallas VA Medical Center. The VA has turned the entire building over to Ken Watterson, President of the Homeless Veterans Service of Dallas (VVA Chapter 137 member) to convert it into a Veterans Resource Center. The Veterans Resource Center (VRC) will house the Homeless Veterans Services of Dallas, which will take up three-fourths of the building. It will provide a Homeless Veterans Day Center and provide a first point of contact for to attend the Texas State Council Meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, which was hosted by VVA Chapter 920. Friday, June 22nd The Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas (VVAFT) met on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. for their semi-annual business meeting that was held at 4:00 p.m. Guests in attendance were VVA Region 7 Director Allen Manuel. The VVAFT Business Meeting focused on general business and the Lucio Moreno Educational Fund s 7th Annual Operation ED-U-CATE. VVAFT awarded $1,000 in grants to the winners of the 7th Annual Operation ED-U- CATE Project. Operation ED-U-CATE is a contest between Texas VVA Chapters to achieve excellence in their overall general operation and each chapter is required to accomplish the contest criteria to be eligible for the final grant awards. 1st Place Winner $500 VVA Chapter 915 in Austin, Texas 2nd Place Winner $300 VVA Chapter 1000 Killeen/Fort Hood 3rd Place Winner $200 VVA Chapter 844 El Paso All entries are judged by the VVAFT Board of Directors. The content of the chapter applicant s website or newsletters or both and the merit of their chapter program determine the final grant awards. The top two awardees will have their essay and photos published in the Texas VV News to recognize the chapter s community service projects. The 8th Annual Operation ED-U- CATE Project will be announced in the coming months and we hope more chapters enter for the opportunity to compete for this revenue. VVAFT has staggered elections of our board of directors. Recently one director announced that he was resigning and another one announced that he was not seeking to be re-elected to the board of directors. In February the board implemented cost-cutting recommendations that if there was a resignation that those positions would not be filled for the time being because income revenue is down because of the economy. Since there were only three STATE COUNCIL, continued on page 5 Inside This Texas VV News TSC President s Report AVVA President s Report... 4 VVAFT President s Report 4 Chapter News Scholarship Essays Military History POW/MIA Veteran Affairs The 3415 Project Stolen Valor Act Shot Down by High Court the homeless veterans to June 28, 2012 / Military.com the court s announcement. connect to employment, by Bryant Jordan In a ruling written by Justice Anthony educational and VA Kennedy, the court determined that the resources and provide A Texas man who helped lead the act was too broad for seeking to control support to paths of selfsufficiency. The day so-called military fakers said he was one subject in almost limitless times and charge for Congress to pass a law against and suppress all false statements on this center will have separate disappointed the Supreme Court had settings without regard to whether the lie sections for males struck it down Thursday. was made for the purpose of material gain. and females and their B.G. Jug Burkett, a Vietnam veteran For the court to decide that lying children. The Female and co-author of 1998 s Stolen Valor, about military service and decorations Resource Center will be told Military.com he thought the court was a criminal offense would essentially separate from the male might toss out the portion of the act endorse the government compiling a list part of the program and making it a crime to verbally claim of subjects about which false statements provide safe and female-oriented service being awarded medals and decorations, are punishable. That governmental power for female veterans. but not the entire law. has no clear limiting principle, he wrote. The Day Center will provide veterancentric day services to the homeless out there that can claim the highest to retired Master Sgt. Jeff Hinton, who I m disappointed. You ve got people The ruling did not come as a surprise veteran s population, including access to decorations in the land and there s no also exposes phony vets and troops who showers, laundry and healthcare services. way to legally stop them from doing exaggerate their combat experience. The Veterans Resource & Day Center so, he said. I expected no less from bureaucrats, has the support from the following Burkett s view is widely shared by politicians and lawyers, said Hinton, organizations: veterans organizations. a former Green Beret who operates the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the website Professionalsoldiers.com. As Texas Workforce Commission U.S. is greatly disappointed in today s always the United States military will VVA Texas State Council (TSC) Supreme Court decision that overturns protect its own. We will continue to AMVETS the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, VFW uphold the honor and integrity of our Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) Commander in Chief Richard Denoyer veterans service ourselves. VET CENTER, continued on page 5 said in a statement released shortly after STOLEN VALOR, continued on page 7

2 2 TEXAS NEWS Vietnam Veterans Publisher Bill Meeks & Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc Fox Run Blvd., Spring, TX Editor Jim W. Boyd P.O. Box , Fort Worth, TX Phone: Assistant Editor and Photographer Susie Moreno Reporters Percilla Newberry and Lynn Kennedy Terri Sirois Fort Bliss Public Affairs Mechanicals American Graphics & Design, Inc. 700 W. Virginia St., Suite 700 Milwaukee, WI President: Jenny DeBack Graphic Designer: Emily McKenna Composition Specialist: Ellen Imp Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc Colesville Road, Ste. 100, Silver Spring, MD Phone: 800-VVA-1316 Fax: Membership: Ernestine Horton Phone: ext VVA Membership Affairs P.O. Box 64299, Baltimore, MD VVA Region 7 Director Allen Manuel 3069 Allen Manuel Rd., Villa Platte, LA Phone: Fax: AMANUEL@VVA.ORG VVA National Secretary Bill Meeks Fox Run Blvd., Spring, TX Phone & Fax: bmeeksjr@aol.com AVVA Region 7 Director Kathy Andras AVVA TSC Representative Marilyn Rose 4307 Winterborne Drive, Pasadena, TX Phone: mrose4319@sbcglobal.net Deadlines to submit articles: (CHANGES to accommodate state council meetings in February and June) January 5th Electronic Newsletter April 5th for Spring Newspaper July 5th for Electronic Newsletter October 5th for Fall Newspaper The Newspaper will be mailed to American Graphics & Design on the 10th of the month. The Texas Vietnam Veterans News is the official publication of the VVA Texas State Council and is published by the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc.; a not-for-profit publicly supported charitable foundation. This newspaper is published three times per year as a service to the VVA Texas State Council and the Texas Vietnam Veterans and other interested organizations. All VVA members, chapters and other interested parties are invited to submit articles, pictures and opinions for publication on subjects relevant to veterans affairs issues. The newspaper editor reserves the right to edit for length and grammar only, and reject any material that is libelous or obscene. Texas State Council Officers: President Secretary Luther (Buster) Newberry P.O. Box 1860 Fritch, TX Phone: Fax: Luther844@aol.com Kerwin Stone P.O. Box 3891 Beaumont, TX Phone: KerwinTX@aol.com Vice President Treasurer Mail your articles to: Texas VV News P.O. Box Fort Worth, TX Phone & Fax: jimwboyd@vvaft.org Don Kennedy, Jr. P.O. Box 1182 Salado, TX Phone & Fax: Badmoonrisin69@aol.com Jim W. Boyd P.O. Box Fort Worth, TX Phone jimwboyd@swbell.net jimwboyd@vvaft.org Disclaimer / Copyright Notice / Policies Disclaimer: The content of the articles in this newspaper is the sole responsibility of the authors. Placing articles in the Texas Vietnam Veterans News does not show TVVN, VVA Texas State Council or the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc., endorsement. It is provided so you may make an informed decision. Copyright Notice: This newspaper contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of veterans issues. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this newsletter is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educating themselves on veteran issues so they can better communicate with their legislators on issues affecting them. For more information, go to: If you wish to use copyrighted material from this newspaper for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Reproduction of Contents: The Texas Vietnam Veterans News is a copyrighted publication with all rights reserved. With the exception of individually Copyrighted portions, permission is granted to reproduce any portion of the publication AS LONG AS the Texas Vietnam Veterans News is credited as your source. FOR INDIVIDUALLY COPYRIGHTED PORTIONS, REPRODUCTION IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE EDITOR OF THE TEXAS VIETNAM VETERANS NEWS. Contributions of Articles and Pictures: All articles must be submitted to the editor ONLY of the TVVN at the address listed above before the deadline. All submissions must be the original work of the author or newspaper/magazines articles with permission to reprint provided with the article. Newspaper/magazine articles or clippings will not be accepted for publication, unless accompanied by a letter of permission to reprint from that newspaper/magazine editor. It will be the responsibility of the individual offering the work to obtain the proper permission. The articles may be type-written, on computer disk or ed. If sent on computer disk, please provide using Microsoft Word or Works software only. No space will be allocated to the demeaning of fellow veterans or politicians. Photographs for publication must be relevant to the article with which they are submitted, and all pertinent information must be attached to the photograph. Subscription policy: The Texas Vietnam Veterans News does not accept subscriptions for the newspaper. It is FREE ONLY to the following: Texas VVA & AVVA Members with your paid membership. The following also receive a copy of the TVVN VA Medical Center & Vet Center Directors in Texas, Federal & State Congressional Members; VVA National Officers, Directors and Committee Chairs; VVA State Council Presidents and other veterans organizations that have expressed an interest in receiving the newspaper. Advertisement Policy: Texas Vietnam Veterans News CANNOT run paid or political ads. On occasion TVVN, will, as a courtesy, run an ad for an organization, as long as the ads are directed at and benefit the veterans population in general and are not offering items for sale. Mistake Policy: If you find any mistakes in this publication, please consider that the mistakes are there for a reason. We publish something for everyone, and there are always some people who are always looking for mistakes!!! Notice for Any Change of Address This notice is to inform the readers of this publication that we (VVAFT, the publisher) use the VVA National Membership Roster for the state of Texas to mail out the newspaper. VVAFT compensates the Texas State Council for the use of the membership roster for each issue printed and mailed. The roster is ed to me at the beginning of each month by VVA s membership department. Therefore, if you are not on the roster, you WILL NOT receive the newspaper when it is mailed out. I have received several changes of addresses from VVA members in Texas; however, in order to change your address, you need to submit a change of address to VVA or AVVA National s membership department not to me. I do not have the time to correct the newspaper mailing roster each issue, nor can I remember everyone that changes their address. You can go to (the National Web site) and then click on forms and scroll down to Membership Forms and download the Change of Information form, fill it out and send it back to VVA or AVVA National Membership Departments.

3 T EXAS VV N EWS 3 Chairman/President William (Bill) Meeks, Jr Fox Run Boulevard Spring, Texas (Home & Fax) (Work) VVAFT1@aol.com Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc. Web site: Board of Directors Vice-Chairman/Vice-President Don (Donnie) Kennedy, Jr. P.O. Box 1182 Salado, Texas (Hm & Fax) (Cell) Badmoonrisin69@aol.com Secretary Kerwin Stone P.O. Box 3891 Beaumont, Texas Treasurer Jim W. Boyd P.O. Box Fort Worth, Texas Phone: jimwboyd@vvaft.org Directors Greg Beck Luther Newberry Robert Rangel Hal Thompson Bill Smith TEXAS VVA STATE COUNCIL CHAPTERS VVA Chapter 137 P.O. Box Dallas, Texas VVA Chapter 457 P.O. Box 2812 San Angelo, Texas VVA Chapter 898 P.O. Box 1111 Victoria, Texas VVA Chapter 937 P.O. Box 2771 Bryan, Texas VVA Chapter 278 P.O. Box 6608 Texarkana, Texas VVA Chapter 574 P.O. Box El Paso, Texas VVA Chapter Sandalwood Drive Corpus Christi, Texas VVA Chapter 973 P.O. Box 2978 Sherman, Texas VVA Chapter 292 P.O. Box 1071 Beaumont, Texas VVA Chapter 685 P.O. Box 1162 Dickinson, Texas VVA Chapter 915 P.O. Box 1364 Bastrop, Texas VVA Chapter 987 P.O. Box 627 Longview, Texas VVA Chapter 297 P.O. Box Amarillo, Texas VVA Chapter 343 P.O. Box Houston, TX TheWARRIORVVA343@aol.com VVA Chapter 348 P.O. Box 353 Orange, Texas VVA Chapter 366 c/o Daniel Medrano 355 Covina Avenue San Antonio, Texas VVA Chapter 379 P.O. Box 3631 Big Spring, Texas VVA Chapter 404 P.O. Box 34 Fritch, TX VVA Chapter 734 P.O. Box 2493 Conroe, Texas vva734@txucom.net VVA Chapter Kirwood Street El Paso, TX VVA Chapter 854 P.O. Box 143 Hallettesville, Texas VVA Chapter 856 P.O. Box Harlingen, Texas VVA Chapter 863 P.O. Box Kerrville, Texas VVA Chapter 870 P.O. Box 83 Schulenburg, Texas VVA Chapter 920 P.O. Box 241 Denton, Texas VVA Chapter Land Breeze Baytown, Texas VVA Chapter 923 P.O. Box 1156 San Marcos, Texas VVA Chapter 929 P.O. Box 4339 Beeville, Texas VVA Chapter 931 P.O. Box Nacogdoches, Texas VVA Chapter 932 P.O. Box Tyler, Texas VVA Chapter 991 P.O. Box 10 Palestine, Texas VVA Chapter 1000 Killeen P.O. Box 2130 Harker Heights, Texas VVA Chapter 1009 P.O. Box 1086 Corsicana, Texas VVA Chapter 1012 P.O. Box 93 Waco, Texas VVA Chapter 1013 P.O. Box Grand Prairie, Texas VVA Chapter 1029 P.O. Box 82 Yorktown, Texas Texas State Council Committee Chairs Audit: Don Mathews Constitution/State By-laws: Bill Meeks, Chair (343) ETABO: Al Navarro, Chair (343) Finance: Allan Hill, Chair (863) Government Affairs: John Miterko, Chair (915) Membership Affairs: Jim W. Boyd, Chair (330) Minority Affairs: Paul Washington, Chair (343) Nominating Committee: Greg Beck, Chair (278) POW/MIA: Don Boling, Chair (379) PTSD: Joe Boatman, Chair (915) Public Affairs: S. J. (Buddy) Farina, Chair (685) Special Advisor: Sandra Womack (AVVA 292) Scholarship: Don Kennedy, Chair (915) Special Advisor: Percilla Newberry (AVVA 404) State Agent Orange Coordinator: John Cook (137) State Legislative Coordinator: John Miterko (915) State Homeless Veterans Coordinator: Greg Beck (278) TSC Chapter Start-Up Coordinator: Mike Dawson (1000) Veterans Benefits: Jim Hallbauer (137) Veterans Incarcerated: Lynda Greene (AVVA 343) Special Advisor Women Veterans: Marlene Foust, Chair (278) Special TSC Committees Chapter Subsidy Fund/Silent Auction: Special Advisor: Lynn Kennedy (AVVA 1000)/ Gina Matthews (AVVA 685) Live Auction: Special Advisor, Percilla Newberry (AVVA 404) AVVA TSC Project AMIGO: Marilyn Rose (AVVA 685)/ Nancy Smith (AVVA 920)

4 4 T EXAS VV N EWS Texas State Council President s Report By Buster Newberry My Brothers and Sisters, The State Council Meeting in Denton was a very successful meeting. Big thanks to Chapter 920 for their hospitality. State Officers were elected for another two years. All of the Officers appreciate your confidence in us and we will try to keep the State Council headed in the right direction. At the Banquet Saturday night, Awards were given out to some very deserving people. More Chapters need to send in candidates for consideration. Only five Chapters participated. We have a new Chapter forming, 1069, in El Campo, Texas. Chapter Start-up Coordinator Mike Dawson has completed their Start-up Kit and we are expecting their Charter from National to make it official. That will make us 37 Chapters and still growing. The next Texas State Council meeting will be hosted by VVA Chapter 863 Kerrville on April 5-7, The Texas State Council VVA VSO office has moved from the Dallas VAMC to the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) two blocks south of the VA Hospital. The VA purchased the old National Guard Armory and has given it to the VRC. The VVA VSO office is now open five days a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The TVC VSO and Paralyzed Veterans VSO have also opened offices at the VRC. Plans are for all of the VSOs from the different organizations to move to the VRC from the Dallas VA hospital. Semper Fi Buster Newberry Texas VVA Service Reps. Tamara Barker 400 Oak Street, Suite 170 Abilene, TX (325) Willie Mae Browning 302 Millers Crossing, #4 Harker Heights, TX (254) John K. Cook Veterans Resource Center 4900 S. Lancaster Rd. (214) , Ext or Bobby Farmer 6104 Avenue Q, South Drive, Rm 132 Lubbock, TX (806) Fax: (806) bobby.farmer@tvc.state.tx.us Francis W. Furleigh th Street, Rm 4300 Galveston, TX (409) Fax: (409) frank.furleigh@co.galveston.tx.us Jim W. Hallbauer Veterans Resource Center 4900 South Lancaster Road Dallas, TX (214) Fax: (214) Maurice (Dick) Healy Veterans Resource Center 4900 South Lancaster Road Dallas, TX (214) Fax: Mike McCullough Veterans Resource Center 4900 South Lancaster Road Dallas, TX (214) Fax: Richard Hernandez, Sr. 301 Wolf Street Killeen, TX (254) Fax (254) rhernandez7@hot.rr.com Alexander Hill Kerrville VAMC 3600 Memorial Boulevard Kerrville, TX (830) Gary J. Ivy Soldiers Service Center, Building Fort Hood, TX (254) Fax: (254) gary.ivy@tvc.state.tx.us Lou James 1025 Colleen Drive Canyon Lake, TX (830) Samuel E. Keels 1901 S. Veterans Memorial Blvd CTVHCS Building, 208, Rm 119 Temple, TX (254) Fax: (254) samuel.kees3@va.gov Robert Pantolja 6900 Almeda Road Houston, TX (713) Fax: (713) robert.pantoja@va.gov Gary Pogrant 400 Oak Street, Suite 170 Abilene, TX (325) Fax: (325) pogrant@taylorcountytexas.org Laura L. Spain P.O. Box 1567 Decatur, TX (940) Fax (940) Larry Witthar 6010 Veterans Commission Amarillo, TX (806) Fax: (806) larry.witthar@va.gov VA Regional Office One Veterans Plaza Waco, TX (254) Fax: (254) Trista Barnum Sandra Covin Jerry Goode Bernado Ramirez James Richman Robert Symank Jesus Torres Texas AVVA State President s Report By Marilyn Rose AVVA President The National Leadership Conference was held in Irving, Texas in August If you did not attend you missed great seminars, meetings and fellowship with all the National Officers. The Texas State Council Officers also did a great job of shuttling people back and forth to the airport. Jim Boyd did a great job along with the people he could muster up to help. As usual there are always glitches, but everyone got everything taken care of. The AVVA National Officers did a great job. This year the AVVA was able to attend the seminars without having to pay an extra fee. First ever and it was very nice attending seminars along with the veterans. All seminars were very informative. If you did not attend the Conference, you missed a good one. Lots of information was learned. The AVVA Luncheon was great. AVVA Texas and the VVA Texas State Council were instrumental in bringing Rebecca Linda Smith and her husband, Robert Frank Smith to the Leadership Conference. Rebecca Linda sang her songs at the AVVA Luncheon. She has the most beautiful voice and Frank Smith has written all the songs she has recorded. It was a pleasure to have her and her husband and we plan on having them again to some of our VVA State Council meetings. During the Luncheon the AVVA Awards were presented. The Member of the Year went to Nancy Reskowski, the Fellowship Award was presented to Sandra Womack, Chapter 292, Beaumont, Texas and the Commemorative Award was presented to me, Marilyn Rose. I would like to say congratulations to Nancy Reskowski and to Sandra Womack. We all know how hard Sandra works in her chapter and all the work she does for the Veterans. Thank you, Sandra; you are an asset to AVVA. Nancy was not able to attend the conference and she was truly missed. She has been very ill and we all hope she is on the mend. The 8th Annual Operation ED-U- CATE Project is funded by VVAFT s Lucio Moreno Educational Fund and will be a contest between Texas VVA Chapters to achieve excellence in their overall general operation and each applicant must have accomplished the following contest criterion to be eligible for the final grant awards: 1. Must be in Good Standing with VVA, the VVA Texas State Council, State and Federal regulations 2. Must meet the submittal deadline 3. Must provide chapter website address or three copies of their chapter newsletter or both for evaluation 4. Must provide a five-hundred (500) word essay on a community- or veteranbased program the chapter has established As for me, I was thoroughly shocked, I was not really paying attention when Kathy Andras and Nancy Switzer were talking about the person who the award was going to, but when she was talking about all the funerals the person has attended for the Fallen Soldiers, I started paying attention and was trying to figure out who it was; then it dawned on me Nancy and Kathy were looking at me. Then the tears started flowing, and then I figured out why Jim (my husband) was at the AVVA Luncheon. He did not know why he was asked there, either. I was completely shocked. I want to say THANK YOU to everyone. As I said before, if you have never attended a National Event, you should. Even before I became an Officer, I have never missed a National Event. My husband was a delegate from our chapter and I would go with him and sometimes he was not a delegate, but we have always attended. It is always fun, interesting, sometimes lots of work, sometimes not, but you always learn something new, meet new people and can take home new ideas for your own chapter. So please try and attend some of the National events. Hope to see everyone in Kerrville, Texas at the next Texas State Council Meeting, April 5-7, 2013 at the Y-O Ranch Hotel and Conference Center. VVAFT President s Report By Bill Meeks, Jr. and provide a minimum of two photos of chapter participation in the program 5. The contest entry (chapter program)

5 T EXAS VV N EWS 5 must be a current event in the previous 12 months prior to the deadline (April 1, 2013) Submittal Deadline: On or by April 1, 2013 Postmark Delivery: Fox Run Blvd., Spring, TX Delivery: VVAFT1@aol.com All entries will be judged by the VVAFT Board of Directors. The content of the chapter applicant s website or newsletters or both and the merit of their chapter program will determine the final grant awards. The top two awardees will have their essay and photos published in the Texas VV News for recognition of their outstanding work. Grant Awards: 1st Place $500 2nd Place $300 3rd Place $200 4th Place $100 The decision of the grant awards by the VVAFT Board of Directors are final and will be announced during the 2013 Spring Meeting of the VVA Texas State Council. STATE COUNCIL, continued from page 1 directors positions up for election and two had stepped down, it only left one position open with two people seeking that position. Bill Smith, VVA Chapter 137 was elected to fill the director position. VVAFT also awarded to RFP grants totaling $900. A sum of $500 was given to the Veterans Resource Center in Dallas and $400 to AVVA State Council. The Texas AVVA State Council held their meeting on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. Chapter 920 VVA and AVVA members opened their hospitality room Friday afternoon. Saturday, June 23rd The Saturday State Council business meeting had plenty of information passed on to the state council delegates on VVA, Veterans Benefits, POW/MIA and homeless veterans. Besides the TSC VVA Delegates, other guests were VVA National Secretary Bill Meeks; VVA Region 7 Director Allen Manuel and his wife, Norma; AVVA Region 7 Director Kathy Andras and Dennis Andras; Oklahoma SC Vice President Nate Washington, Terry Burkett with the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee and the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of the Texas Board of Directors. The TSC President Buster Newberry called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning and the Presentation of the Colors was by members of the Chapter 920 Color Guard followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation. Humberto Nevarez, Chapter 574, conducted the POW/MIA Table Ceremony. Chapter 920 President Jerry Anderson welcomed the delegates and guests to Denton and introduced the Mayor of Denton, who was in a runoff election but took the time to stop by and welcome everyone to Denton. President Newberry asked any newlyelected chapter delegates to come forward to introduce themselves and take the oath of office so they could be seated as delegates on the Texas State Council. The Texas State Council s Alberto Rodriquez Memorial Scholarship applicant s essays were passed out at the beginning of the state council meeting for the delegates to read and vote on. The scholarship committee blacked out the names and gave each essay a number and the delegates placed on a ballot which place they thought each essay was, from a range of 1-7. Each applicant completed the requirements for the scholarship: DD-214, birth certificate, essay, transcript, letter of acceptance from the college that they will be (or are) attending and letters of recommendation from teachers or friends. The essays are always on learning about Vietnam. The applicants can apply for four consecutive years. The chapters present gave oral and written reports of what each chapter has been doing since the February 2012 TSC meeting in Galveston, Texas followed by Committee Reports, Unfinished and New Business. This state council meeting was also election time for the state council officers. Each state council position was VVA Chapter 920 Denton. Jerry Anderson, Chapter 920 President, welcoming TSC Delegates to Denton for the Texas State Council Convention. All photos by Jim W. Boyd VVAFT s Operation Ed-U-Cate. 2nd Place Winner VVA Chapter 1000 Killeen; VVAFT President Bill Meeks presenting a check for $400 to Chapter announced for nominations from the floor and there were no nominations from the floor. By acclamation President Luther Newberry, Vice President Don Kennedy, Secretary Kerwin Stone and Treasurer Jim W. Boyd were elected to serve another two-year term. Under new business the following state council meetings were confirmed: TSC April 5-7, 2013 meeting host Chapter 863 Kerrville TSC October 2013 meeting host Chapter 366 San Antonio TSC April 2014 meeting host Chapter 1000 Killeen/Fort Hood TSC October 2014 meeting host Chapter 137 Dallas The Silent Auction held during the Saturday TSC meeting brought in $1,269, of which half went to Chapter 920 for hosting the state council meeting. Saturday Night Awards Banquet The guest speaker at the Saturday night banquet was James Wheeler (LTC Ret.), who is a founding member of VVA Chapter 920. LTC Wheeler is the VISN 17 Veteran Advocate in the VA North Texas Healthcare Network for the U.S. POW/MIA Ceremony. Humberto Neverez-VVA Chapter 574 El Paso. VVAFT s Operation Ed-U-Cate. 1st Place Winner VVA Chapter 915 Austin; VVAFT President Bill Meeks presenting a check for $500 to Chapter 915. VVAFT s Operation Ed-U-Cate. 3rd Place Winner VVA Chapter 844 El Paso; VVAFT President Bill Meeks presenting a check for $300 to Chapter 844. Department of Veterans Affairs. The scholarship winners were announced at the Saturday night banquet; the state council awarded $4,250 in scholarships. 1st Place: Shelby Smith, Kerrville, Texas, Daughter of Edward Smith, $1,000 2nd Place: Joseph Foutz, Academy, Texas, Grandson of William Whittaker, $ (2nd scholarship award) Stormi Champion, Montgomery, Texas, Granddaughter of Bill and Suzie Meeks, $ (2nd scholarship award) Bailey Beck, Texarkana, Texas, Granddaughter of Greg and Ann Beck, $ (2nd scholarship award) Logan Maywald, Austin, Texas, Grandson of Billy and Mary Dement, Jr., $500 James Hunter Cunningham, Fritch, Texas, Grandson of Dennis Meyer, $ Amy Castello, Cedar Park, Texas, Granddaughter of Eugene Sinclair, $ (2nd scholarship award) The scholarship committee will be presenting a board showing pictures of past scholarship winners and their accomplishments from the Alberto Rodriquez Memorial Scholarship and this will be shown at the April 2013 State Council meeting. The State Council officers also made award presentations to those members, businesses, etc. that were nominated by the chapters. Those that did not receive the award itself were given a Certificate of Appreciation. The Live Auction brought in $945 for the scholarship fund. VET CENTER, continued from page 1 The American Legion Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas (VVAFT) Homeless Veterans Services of Dallas was already helping homeless veterans in the Dallas area and held their annual Homeless Stand Down on September 26, 2012 at the Resource Center. This saw a considerable number of homeless persons (both veterans and non-veterans) in the Dallas area come through. The Dallas VA Medical Center provided flu shots, HIV testing and dental exams. Other organizations such as the Red Cross and many others provided other services such as clothing, shoes, blankets, towels, duffel bags and hygiene supplies, haircuts and other items. The Texas State Council VVA Veterans Service Representatives (VVA VSO) office relocated to the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) last July from the Dallas VA Medical Center and is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The AMVETS and Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) and Legal Services have also opened offices at the VRC. It is projected that sometime next year the DAV will also relocate from the VAMC to the Resource Center. The Texas State Council has five VSOs at the VVA VSO office; three are already certified and two have completed their training and are waiting for VA certification. They are John Cook (New TSC Chief VVA VSO, over all of the VVA VSOs in Texas; Jim Hallbauer; VET CENTER, continued on page 6

6 6 T EXAS VV N EWS VET CENTER, continued from page 5 Mike McCullough; Dick Healy and Bob Nichols. As the editor of the Texas VV News I attended the Homeless Stand Down and Ken Watterson stated that all of the veterans organizations and the Department of Veterans Affairs need to start gearing up now to get ready for the huge influx in the number of returning veterans that are going to need our services with the draw down date fast approaching in Afghanistan; and the huge budget cuts that will result in a very large number of soldiers, Marines, Navy and Air Force personnel being discharged from the military in Watterson said that it is a shame that a lot of the young returning veterans joined the military right after high school, they have no employment experience and cannot find employment. He said that all they have is a car and a cell phone and are homeless. He stated that some of them are going to local area lakes where they can park their vehicle and spend the night, but they are VVA Texas State Council Meeting Host VVA Chapter 863 Kerrville, Texas April 5-7, 2013 Host Hotel: Y.O. Ranch Hotel & Conference Center 2033 Sidney Baker, Kerrville, TX Reservations: Room Rate: Single, Double, Triple and Quad One night stay: $89.00 plus tax King or Queen Registration Cutoff Date: March 29, 2013 Registration Form (Please one form per person) (Guests must also fill out form) Name: Address: City, State, Zip: Contact # Saturday Evening Awards Banquet Pre-Register $40 per delegate Pre-Register $35 Guests Must be postmarked on or before: March 29, 2013 VVA Delegate: VVA Chapter #: Title: AVVA Member: VVA Chapter #: Chapter Rep: Guest: Guest of: Make Checks Payable to: VVA Chapter 863 Mail to: VVA Chapter 863 P.O. Box Kerrville, TX (830) or (830) PROJECT A.M.I.G.O. to be announced later only allowed to stay for 14 days before having to move to another area lake. Since U.S. military forces have left Iraq and are winding down in Afghanistan, the buildup in mental health services for soldiers who served there continues to surge. Embedded in the hundreds of medical studies spawned by the wars are sobering statistics such as this: Six months after their return from those conflicts, 42 percent of 31,885 National Guard and Reserve veterans who received a screening by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians were found to need mental health treatment. A survey of 167 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, cited in the Army s 2012 report on the strategic reset of troops following withdrawal, found that 1 in 5 respondents had contemplated suicide the two weeks prior to the survey. Even for those without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or major depression, the stuff of everyday life sleeping, driving, meeting people can pose problems. In a national sampling of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receiving medical care through the VA, half reported difficulty in social functioning, productivity or controlling anger; onethird reported divorce, dangerous driving or substance abuse. Almost all expressed interest in services to help them adjust to civilian life. What is sad is that the young generation that have come home and that are homeless have no job experience and cannot find employment, since most of them joined right out of high school. All they have is a car to live in and a cell phone. They go to the area lakes to spend their nights and can park at the lake for 14 days before they have to move to another location and start their 14 day stay all over again. Since 2005, the VA health system (annual budget: $44.5 billion) has been retooling to deal with the influx of veterans returning from the wars. The greatest growth in caseload has been among those patients diagnosed with PTSD, an impairment that puts them at high risk for suicide. At the same time, veterans with mental health issues consume an increasingly outsized share of VA resources more than one-third of the agency s spending on health care, according to a report by the Rand Corporation released last year. Yet most of the cost they incurred was actually for treating their medical problems. This reflects the high degree to which veterans with mental health and substance use conditions also face difficulties with physical functioning and health, said the authors of the Rand report. If this expensive cohort continues to grow, it will likely further increase VA health care expenditures. The VA is spending at least $65 million on suicide research alone, and in September it announced $100 million in funding to study treatments for traumatic brain injuries and PTSD. The VA has added 7,000 mental health workers and is in the process of hiring 1,600 more, bringing to 22,000 the mental health workforce of nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. However, staffing up has not been easy. Both rural and urban VA facilities have reported recruitment difficulties, especially when filling psychiatrist, psychologist and nursing positions. And despite the minimum standards the VA sets for mental health services at all its locations including requiring an initial evaluation within 24 hours for all new patients the Rand report found important gaps in both quality and uniformity of treatment. Some critical services, such as intensive outpatient treatment for substance abuse, are not widely available outside major metropolitan areas. Although the VA says the wait time exceeds two weeks for only 2 percent of appointments, a recent review by its Office of Inspector General found that 12 percent, or 1.2 million appointments, had wait times of up to 60 days. By some statistical measures, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are behaving differently than their predecessors who fought in the Vietnam War. For example, they are overdosing on prescription drugs far more than illicit substances. Some things are the same. Both groups have faced an elevated risk of dying in motor vehicle crashes, of having substance abuse problems, and of suffering posttraumatic stress, which afflicts 1 in 4 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans using VA health care. PTSD is harder to treat in veterans of combat than in civilians. For millions of America s veterans, the services the VA offers will remain the only game in town. See photo spread for more photos. Texas State Council VVA VSO Office. TSC Chief VSO John Cook at the Dallas Veterans Resource Center. All photos by Jim W. Boyd Texas State Council VVA VSO Office TSC VVA VSO Mike McCullough at the Dallas Veterans Resource Center. Texas State Council VVA VSO Office TSC VVA VSO Dick Healy at the Dallas Veterans Resource Center.

7 T EXAS VV N EWS 7 STOLEN VALOR, continued from page 1 Likewise, Denoyer said: Despite the ruling, the VFW will continue to challenge far-fetched stories, and to publicize these false heroes to the broadest extent possible as a deterrent to others. Burkett has spent years doing just that on his own website, StolenValor.com. Along with a team that includes three former Navy SEALs, he routinely exposes and publishes stories about people who claim to be war heroes or have earned ranks or decorations they didn t. Additionally, Burkett investigates reports of phony veterans who have been able to get into the Department of Veterans Affairs system and draw benefits. He said he turns those reports over to the VA for further investigation and prosecution. Burkett was an investment counselor in Dallas when he began looking into questionable claims being made by men about service in Vietnam, where he had served with the Army s 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He found cases of phony veterans spinning stories of heroism and even atrocities. Along with Texas Monthly writer Glenna Whitley, he authored Stolen Valor, which in 2005 then-rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., borrowed as the title for legislation making it illegal to impersonate servicemembers and falsely claim awards. The law made it a federal misdemeanor to misrepresent yourself as a recipient of a military medal or decoration. The crime was punishable by up to six months in jail for all but the Medal of Honor, which carried jail time of up to a year. I m hoping Congress will re-craft a new [Stolen Valor] law to make it even stronger, Burkett said. I can t imagine you can t craft a law that makes impersonating a servicemember a felony. They do it for police officers. Why not the military? Stolen Valor Legislation Not Dead On Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) plans to introduce the Military Service Integrity Act of 2012, which could bring criminal penalties to any individual for making a false claim to have served in the military or to have been awarded a military medal, decoration, or other device in order to secure a tangible benefit or personal gain. The legislation was drafted to comply with the U.S. Constitution s First Amendment restrictions outlined recently by the Supreme Court decision United States v. Alvarez, which struck down the original Stolen Valor Act of 2005 (see press release from Webb s office at: Press_@webb.senate.gov). Webb s bill is similar to HR 1775 the Stolen Valor Act of 2011, introduced in the House by Congressman Heck (R-NV), which makes it illegal for individuals to benefit from lying about their military service, record, or awards. Senator Webb and Congressman Heck believe that their bills would pass constitutional review on the grounds that they do not attempt to limit speech. In a related story, on July 11, the Associated Press announced that the Pentagon plans to establish a searchable database of military valor awards and medals, hoping for a technological fix to the problem of people getting away with lying about earning military honors. Pentagon press secretary George Little said details have yet to be worked out, but the intention is to have a digital repository of records on a range of valor awards and medals going back as far in history as possible. The move is in response to a June 28 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a law making it a crime to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor and other military decorations. An authoritative database would make it easier to check on award claims, and perhaps would deter some who would make false public claims. The high court ruled that the 2006 Stolen Valor Act infringes upon speech protected by the First Amendment. Veterans organizations and some in Congress have long argued that the Pentagon needs such a database. As recently as 2009, the Pentagon argued that it would be too costly and could pose Privacy Act problems. It also argued that any government database would be incomplete because a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis destroyed millions of personnel records, including those citing medals and awards, and that even a complete database would do little to reduce the number of false award claims. There are some complexities involved in looking back into history, Little said. We would obviously hope to be able to go as far back as possible, but we also want there to be integrity in the data. So these are factors that are being weighed, and we re in the process of exploring those options. So the door is open. House Votes for New Stolen Valor Act Associated Press by Jim Abrams Sept 14, 2012 WASHINGTON Those who lie about military service or make false claims about receiving military medals with the intent of benefiting from those claims would be committing a crime under legislation passed by the House Wednesday. The House s vote on what is known as the Stolen Valor Act came less than three months after the Supreme Court struck down the original act on the grounds that it violated First Amendment free speech rights. The new bill attempts to get around the court ruling by making clear that it applies only in cases where people lie about a military record with the aim of obtaining payment or other benefits. Defining the intent helps ensure that this law will pass constitutional scrutiny while at the same time achieving its primary objective, which is to preserve and protect the honor and integrity of military service and awards, said the bill s sponsor, Rep. Joe Heck, R-NV. The bill states that those who misrepresent their military service with the intent of receiving something of value would be subject to up to one year in prison. Following the lines of the court ruling, it exempts from punishment those who simply wear military medals or decorations that do not belong to them. The Supreme Court, in its 6-3 decision overturning the 2006 Stolen Valor Act in June, ruled that while lying about receiving military awards might be contemptible, it was protected by the First Amendment. Several justices, however, also noted that it was established that the government could restrict speech if it involved false claims made to obtain money or other benefits. Even before the 2006 act, enacted at the height of the fighting in Iraq, it was a federal crime to wear unearned medals. But there was no law banning claims of being decorated. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, speaking at a House hearing a month after the court ruling, said the Pentagon was launching a new website listing the names of those who had received the Medal of Honor since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He said the website could be expanded to include other recipients of military valor awards and medals. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA, has introduced a companion bill. We cannot allow thieves and fraudsters to profit by falsely claiming the distinctions our heroes have earned, Brown said in a statement. I will continue working in a bipartisan way to see this bill through the Senate. CHAPTER NEWS VVA Chapter 292 Beaumont Once America Sent Them to War Now Texas Welcomes Them Home City of Beaumont s Welcome Home Brother Weekend Raises More than $62,000 For the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument The City of Beaumont, its citizens and the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Chapter 292 held a Welcome Home Brother weekend September to honor Vietnam veterans and to raise funds for the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument. Even with some donations still coming in, the Beaumont Welcome Home Brother Committee has announced $62,000 plus in donations as of October 2, This is just phenomenal. Said Robert Floyd, Chairman, of the TCVVM Committee. The outpouring of support from Beaumont, led by Mayor Becky Ames, is unprecedented. In 2011, the Texas Legislature passed a $500,000 matching grant for the Monument to be administered by the Texas Historical Commission. This means that the final total raised by the City of Beaumont will be doubled. The weekend s activities began with a program on Friday evening to pay tribute to Vietnam veterans from Southeast Texas who perished while serving their country and to those soldiers who are still listed as a POW/MIA. VVA Chapter 292 President Kerwin Stone said, The Monument has been a long time in coming. It has been a long time since the conflict ended and it is time that our Southeast Texas and all Vietnam veterans are welcomed home. Other events included a celebration of VVA 292 s 25th Anniversary, a motorcycle parade by the Patriot Guard and lunch at the Cowboy Harley-Davidson Dealership in Beaumont. The final event of the weekend was the Welcome Home Brother Heroes Dinner, which included both a silent and live auction. The TCVVM Committee is tremendously appreciative for the leadership of Senator Juan Hinojosa and State Representative Wayne Smith, both Vietnam veterans, and the unwavering support of Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Speaker Joe Strauss and the Commissioner of the General Land Office and Vietnam veteran Jerry Patterson to help make the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument a reality. We are extremely grateful to Mayor Ames, the Beaumont City Council, the staff and all the amazing volunteers who dedicated their time and energy to making the whole weekend a success, both financially and in providing a much deserved welcome home to the Vietnam veterans of Southeast Texas, Floyd concluded.

8 8 CHAPTER NEWS VVA Chapter 915 Austin Operation Ed-U-Cate Chapter 1000 Fort Hood Area Project Serving Those Who Serve For the last four years, Chapter 1000 has operated a veterans-based program at the Soldier Readiness Center on Fort Hood. On Tuesdays, chapter members Bill Whittaker, Willy Williams, Cliff Baldwin, Dennis Farmerie and AVVA member Lynn Kennedy provided breakfast for soldiers as they went through the processing procedures at the center. Since it takes a long time to go through this process, soldiers mostly sit and wait; however, waiting is made easier if they have something to eat, a good cup of coffee, and even get to have a talk with some old Vietnam vets. In 2011 we served an unprecedented amount of military personnel. We served a mixture of regular Army, Army Reserves, Aviation units and National Guard units, as well. Early in the year the staff was processing anywhere from troops per day. We were privileged to serve some of the National Guard 1st 111th Aviation Battalion, Charlie Company out of Jacksonville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. We met CWII Fredieu from the Florida group and found it interesting that she had a special ops patch. She had been attached to a special ops unit in Afghanistan. Soon things began to get busier as the 3rd ACR returned and the Texas National Guard, 36th Infantry Division, along with several elements of COSCOM, were preparing to deploy so we were serving on Tuesdays. As June rolled around, the 4th ID began to return home; we served a few units of the 306. A soldier from this unit came by on his way out and grabbed another honey bun. He said with a big grin on his face, I haven t had one of these in ten months! Mission completed that day. My father had his children later in life than most. I am seventeen, he is sixty-two. From the time I was old enough to recognize such things, I always found dad to be a little distant. I never thought much about it. Hey, that s just dad, right? As the years went by, I became vaguely aware he was a Vietnam veteran. I would hear him and mom chatting about it on occasion, usually when a war movie was playing on television. Still, I never though much about it. As a teenage girl, I had more important things on my mind like boys, music and going to the mall. That changed two years ago when dad got a phone call. It was from a guy in California dad had served with in Vietnam. Dad s eyes lit up as I d never seen before. It seem like they talked forever, which to me is about two hours. They began to plan a reunion of the survivors from their platoon, which they scheduled for August So dad and one other guy are off on a recon to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where they all had taken their training. They set things up for the reunion and when he returned, it was obvious dad was really excited by this. He couldn t wait to get there and see all the guys again. He returned after a four-day stay. Mom began to bombard him with questions about how the reunion went. Mom is very inquisitive and wanted to know every detail down to the color of the drapes in the motel room. Dad, not being as chatty as mom, answered each specific question but offered nothing further. I got the feeling things didn t go as well as hoped. Still, dad seemed cheerful enough and the memory soon faded from my day to day concerns like boys, music and going to the mall. Today I find myself with the opportunity to attend Angelo State University. I received my letter of acceptance some weeks back and am excited about the T EXAS VV N EWS In July we met MCG Tamika Evans with the 176 Engineers who was home from Afghanistan. She wanted to thank us for being there, she said, just in case no one else has said thank you. In August we served other groups from the 3rd ACR recently returned from Iraq. And one Tuesday we met Brigadier General James Brown from the Texas National Guard, 36th Infantry Division. He was looking over the facility in preparation for the deployment of his units. He was pleased to see our vets and glad of the fact that we were there supporting the troops. By September, the SRP Center averaged soldiers per day. We served members of the HHC 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, Louisiana National Guard who were headed for Afghanistan. A few guard members from Maryland were attached to the Brigade, and they really got a kick out of AVVA members Lynn Kennedy and Nanci Bush s Texas accent. In November and December the Army began to step up the withdrawal from Iraq with the intent of having the troops home by Christmas. So each Tuesday we were serving record numbers (800). Our funds dropped significantly, but we were able to make it those two months. During that time, we were pleased to serve some of the members of the 77th TAB Aviation Brigade from Camp Robinson, Arkansas who were processing in from Tallil, Iraq. We visited with Captain Bethany Smith, CWII Barry Pylant, SSGT Grant Lewis, Sgt. Justin Freeland and E7 Jeffery Stegall. Then the next Tuesday the North Carolina Guard (363 strong) processed out to Kuwait. Their major told us they would be loading military equipment to be shipped to either Afghanistan or home. In December, we served the 1st Cavalry who had returned from Iraq. We served three groups of 400 by 12 Noon. Needless to say, they enjoyed our food and beverages because THEY ATE IT ALL, and we were exhausted. Things slowed down significantly as we went into January of In fact, we did not go at all in February and March. However, we returned in April and currently 1st Place Scholarship Essay By Shelby Smith 1st Place Scholarship Essay prospects. I am also excited by the opportunity to obtain a scholarship based on the experiences of returning Vietnam vets, one of whom is my dad. I began looking into the subject of the treatment of returning Vietnam vets by searching the Internet. These days who wouldn t use the net as the primary source of information? What I found was thousands of sites covering all aspects of the experiences of these returning vets. Depression rates, suicide rates, divorce rates, alcohol abuse rates, drug abuse rates and unemployment rates are much higher among Vietnam vets some sites said. Other sites said those things were not true and there was no statistical difference. Some sites said returning vets were greeted by angry anti-war protestors spitting on them, throwing blood, feces and urine at them, calling them names like murderers and baby killers. Other sites said none of that was true. Those things were made up by the media to create sensational stories or were simply cases of third-hand tales everyone heard, but no one saw. Some said the shooting at Kent State was caused by the out of control military. Others claim the student violence was the cause. All these years after that war ended I had no idea how to sort through all of this information or, in some cases misinformation, to determine the truth. The one common thread was the United States was a nation at war with itself. I did have one credible source of information on the subject. One who did not have an agenda, one who would give me a straight answer to a straight question and he was sitting in our living room having a martini and a smoke. Dad always does his best thinking and talking over a martini. So the majority of this essay is an interview I conducted March 6, 2012 with someone whose information I trust, namely my dad. I m Shelby and I m doing the questioning. Hope I can be as detailed as mom would be. are serving about 200 per week. Recently, we served the 129th Transportation Company from Kansas and Colorado who returned from Iraq. They were to go home for four months, then to Fort Lewis for training and from there to Afghanistan. The Soldier Readiness Center cut nine employees in March and the rest will be cut in September We believe we may not be going back after September, as well. If so, it will be time to celebrate. Our warriors will be home after years of deployments and separation from their families. A job well done! QUESTION: What is your name and relation to me? ANSWER: I hope this will be the toughest question of the day. My name is Edward Smith and I m your father. QUESTION: Dad, you served in Vietnam right? ANSWER: Yes. We referred to it as South Vietnam, Republic of, a little military lingo there. I was a squad leader in A Company, 20th Combat Engineer Battalion in Pleiku. Later we saw service in Ban Me Thuot, a bit further south. That place was a real hole. You may not know this, but your grandfather Jack also served in Vietnam. He was a career Air Force so you have quite a connection to that conflict. QUESTION: What were you doing at that time? ANSWER: We were erecting several firebases around the town. I ran a group of Montegnards providing security for those sites. QUESTION: When did you return? ANSWER: October QUESTION: Were you aware of the anti-war sentiment in the United States while in Vietnam? ANSWER: I was well aware of that even before entering the military. QUESTION: While in Vietnam did anything that happened back in the United States cause you to question why you were serving? ANSWER: Long pause *sips on martini* I don t know if this is exactly what you re asking but try this. I received my Dear John letter after being in the country about three months. Now that was not unique to me, as many guys were getting those. It was the wording that was so hurtful. She said she couldn t possibly have any kind of relationship with someone who took part in an immoral and corrupt war. This from the young lady who had driven me to the induction station a year earlier, and swore undying devotion to me. I guess her going off to college opened her eyes as to what an evil person I

9 T EXAS VV N EWS 9 was (snide laugh) just the way it goes, I guess. QUESTION: I have gone to a number of websites and have found a number of things that are said to have happened to returning veterans. Did any of these things ever happen to you or any other veteran you know? Were you ever spit on? ANSWER: No. QUESTION: Did you ever have blood, urine or feces thrown at you? ANSWER: No. QUESTION: Did anyone call you a baby killer? ANSWER: Yes. QUESTION: What were the circumstances and how did you respond? ANSWER: We had returned and been processed through at Fort Lewis, Washington. I think there were three of us flying home on the same flight to Chicago from the Seattle airport. As we walked by, a couple of girls in their late teens or early twenties, and kind of under their breath used that term, loud enough that they got their point across. We made no response. After just having come through a war and witnessing the depredations people visit on each other, we really didn t care what a couple of pimply-faced trust fund students attending the prestigious university of their choice thought of us. QUESTION: Did you know of any instances of children being intentionally killed? ANSWER: Children, babies, the old and the young, men and women get killed in war and that s simply the harsh reality. In every war before or since but never intentionally. We had no gripe with the Vietnamese, other than we didn t want to be there anymore than they wanted us there. QUESTION: Other than that incident would you say you were treated well as a returning vet? ANSWER: No, I wouldn t say that. There were far more subtle, but no less hurtful methods. Once back in Chicago, I had a month leave before I had to report back to Fort Leonard Wood. There were two occasions I recall when I walked into diners I had frequented as a teen. There would be a table of guys and girls I had literally known my entire life. We had grown up together and had been buddies. I walked up to them thinking they would be as happy to see me as I was to see them. Instead I got the cold shoulder. Not only would they not talk to me, but they would not even acknowledge my presence. Hey gang, it s me, Ed, it s good to see you again. I can t begin to describe how humiliating that was. And I stood there with my arms apart thinking, what have I done to you guys? You all went off to college or to jobs and I went off to the military. Why would you treat me like this? I walked away with my tail between my legs, shaking my head. I don t recall ever feeling as low as I did then. QUESTION: A number of the sites I visited said because of the shabby treatment returning vets received they suffered from a number of things at higher rates than normal. Have you ever suffered any of the following depression? ANSWER: Well, don t we all get depressed from time to time? I have been depressed on occasion, but I don t attribute that to Vietnam or the aftermath. QUESTION: Thoughts of suicide? ANSWER: No. QUESTION: Divorce? ANSWER: I was divorced once. but I rather think the cause of that was I was a jerk. QUESTION: Alcohol abuse? ANSWER: Does it count if I m having a martini chuckle no I don t suffer from alcoholism. QUESTION: Drug abuse? ANSWER: No. QUESTION: Any trouble being employed? ANSWER: No, I was always employed until I retired. QUESTION: Do you have personal knowledge of other returning vets who suffered from any of the things we ve talked about? ANSWER: When our platoon had the reunion, I found it very sobering experience. Al Varela, the guy who had tracked everyone down, had startling information. Before I go further, I should mention my friend Al had a problem with land mines. He stepped on two of them in Nam and still has a limp. Guess it was lucky he survived those. Of the forty-five or so who had served together, he found only eighteen still alive. Illness, disease, accident those are things to be expected. I was left stunned by the high number of suicides, drug overdoses and murder victims. One in particular was especially painful. The guy in the platoon I had been closest to was a suicide. After the reunion I tracked down his sister to find out what happened. Seems ever since his return from Vietnam, he had battled depression most of his adult life. She was not sure whether it was Vietnam itself or what happened on his return. Having served with him I knew when we left Nam he was the same guy. Something after that was the culprit. Another Al who served with us was murdered at the age of 29 in Mississippi. This was a good guy and I could not imagine what would have led to that. Word has it, although unconfirmed, he was a major drug user who ran afoul of some folks. He never did a single dose of heroin or opium or even a joint while in Nam. So what happened? We also knew of one of our number from the Boston area who, upon return, was walking down the streets of his hometown in uniform and suffered a brutal assault by several of the students from the nearby college. He was hospitalized for six months from the beating and has only limited memory of his life before the incident. This from a group of peace loving students, who most likely walked around talking about love, peace, beads, bellbottoms and Woodstock. Several of the guys were listed as drug overdoses. We will probably never know if those were accidental or suicides. Either way, another casualty. You know, Shelb (dad calls me Shelb), I realize that this is simply from personal experience and therefore anecdotal and I don t have data to back it up, but when such a high number of my brothers in arms have met violent ends from murder, suicide, drug overdoses, single car accidents directly into a tree it s one of those things where you say if it walks like a duck yeah, you know what I mean. QUESTION: Based only on your personal treatment, how would you say you dealt with it? ANSWER: Well, I know I became something of a loner. Hey, you guys are going to ignore me and act like I don t exist, okay then here s right back at you. Some years after the incident that occurred in the diner in Chicago, I ran into one of those guys. He asked what it had been like in Vietnam. I simply gave him an ice cold stare and told him to go there and find out for himself and I turned and walked away. This time my tail was not between my legs. I know I seem somewhat distant and aloof, as well. Those traits may all be manifestations of the same thing. QUESTION: Those guys at the reunion. Did they seem to have dealt with their treatment well? ANSWER: There were a couple who seemed angry and bitter. But I think that s to be expected in any group. On the whole, most seemed to have fared well. At least those still alive. QUESTION: Do you think you re angry and bitter? ANSWER: Not at all. What good would that be? Eating yourself up emotionally because of some creeps who don t give a damn about you anyway. QUESTION: This paper I m doing is about vets coming home to an angry nation. Why do you think the country was angry at you guys? ANSWER: Well, at the time I was confused about that. I mean, if those anti-war protestors were looking for others sympathetic to their goal they could not have asked for more than the returning soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen. Instead they pretty much treated us with disdain and contempt. Fact is, I think the whole country was confused by a lot of things. As the years have gone by and I have become more cynical, sarcastic and jaded, I ve developed my own theory so, here it is. Government officials lied about every aspect of the war, so the country had reason to be angry. As one example, I ll point to the book written by Robert McNamara a few years back. Problem was, government officials can physically insulate themselves from public contact if they wish. We returning vets could not. We were easily identifiable and assessable. So we became the target. Right out of the Saul Alinsky playbook. QUESTION: Who is Saul Alinsky? ANSWER: That s something you probably need to look up for yourself. (Note to self look up Saul Alinsky when dad says something in that tone of voice it s not a suggestion, it s a command). QUESTION: Was there ever a point when you felt the country welcomed you back home? ANSWER: Gee, I don t know how to answer that. I do recall the first time anyone ever said welcome home was in 1983 at a concert. One of the bands was The Grass Roots. The front man, I think his name was Rob Grill, came out and before they did their first song he asked all Vietnam vets to stand and he gave us a welcome home. Kind of funny it would take a complete stranger from a 60s rock band to say that. I can say the country I came back to was not one I recognized. Maybe that country didn t exist anymore. Or maybe the opposite is true. Maybe it was us returning vets who had changed and not the country. I ll leave that for the philosophers to debate. QUESTION: Dad, this is the last question of the interview. Do you think the country owes its returned Vietnam vets an apology for the treatment they received? ANSWER: No. We did what we had to do. A country cannot apologize. That can only come from an individual. About all a country can do is have a parade, and I probably wouldn t attend as I don t care for parades. So where am I left from all of this? Since essays are generally personal in nature, I ll do something very unscientific here. I ll just throw out all the websites and all the data and we ll start the score in a 0-0 tie. I m left with the experiences of my dad and the other members of his platoon who he has personal knowledge of. And with those the score read Vietnam Vets 1-Country 0. Contrary to dad s opinion, an apology is in order and long overdue; but then, maybe I m just as confused now as the country they came home to was. Or could it be there are no winners or losers in war, only casualties.

10 10 T EXAS VV N EWS 2nd Place Scholarship Essay Returning Home: Joy or Tragedy By Joseph Foutz 2nd Place Scholarship Essay Coming home from anywhere should always be an experience that is filled with joy, happiness and a sense of relief and security. Returning to your friends and family after even a good trip or vacation is a time where there should be love and compassion. Returning after a difficult or worrisome trip can leave anyone with a need for security, love, appreciation and above all else, relief. Even more so, people and participants of our military should return amongst gratitude and congratulations. As a somewhat experienced traveler, I know what it is like to return home. It is always so nice to have smiles, hugs and kisses waiting from those that you love with all your heart and to hear kind words expressing their feelings at your homecoming. I, personally, have never had someone not be happy when I ve returned, so I can only imagine how horrid it would be treated in a negative matter. Unfortunately, this is how the Vietnam soldiers returning to America were treated. They arrived at the airports full to the brim with a mixture of emotions. They were tired and extremely downtrodden, due to the fact that they had just gone through a living hell called the Vietnam War. They had endured long, exhausting days that turned into months that became years of living each day in a state of constant fear and wondering if they would make it through to the next day. They had been shot at, bombarded, thrust into a foreign land and given orders, that often had life or death consequences. They had fought for their country in a war that many American citizens did not even believe they should be fighting in, let alone actually supporting them. Despite what was going on in America, they risked themselves every day for the greater good. They should have returned to a country overflowing with praise, thanks and hallelujahs. They should not have had to worry any longer about protecting themselves once they returned. After having endured hell and back, it would have been a nice reprieve to be able to relax in the love and adoration of their family and friends. However, walking through an airport made them the subject of vindictive jeering, booing and catcalling. At times, they were not allowed to be with their family straight off because of the amount of negativity that was thrown at them from protestors. Usually, they would wear their uniforms off of the plane, proudly portraying who they are and what they ve done for their country; but it became an option for soldiers to change into their normal everyday clothes, so to sneak past the protestors and catcallers without being harassed. This is unfathomable. I cannot imagine enduring years of pain, suffering and back breaking war to return home and find that around the corner my own people, people that I had fought for, were willing to kick me down even farther. Despite many American citizens beliefs the majority of American soldiers were volunteers and were not drafted. The American population at the time was under the impression that soldiers had been conscripted for service when, in fact, that was the case for only around one third of the soldiers serving. The remaining two thirds had voluntarily signed up once things began. This is a horrible misunderstanding because it does a couple of things. First off, bad tension and low support sizzled like wildfire throughout the country. There were strikes throughout the country from all different groups. College campuses became a playground for anti-war gatherings and antiwar activist groups grew to such proportions as to be openly rude, aggressive and sometimes violent towards not only returning or injured soldiers, but their families as well. Also, this idea that soldiers were forced into combat undermines the individual soldier s heart, determination and loyalty to the country they are fighting for. America has long stood as a symbol, as a country striving for power for the good, democracy and overall, for freedom for all. Protecting those ideals are the soldiers that work hard, fight hard and die for the things that America stands for. They battle and sometimes die so that we, American citizens, can sleep safely at night. They sacrifice themselves mentally, physically and emotionally to do what they do. It is my belief that you cannot have half a soldier. You cannot have a man or woman that only half does their duty because then there is a weakness in the armor plating. I am under the impression that soldiers consider themselves as close as family, as if blood linked them and losing one wounds all. A soldier would want to complete their task fully, to the best of their ability, so as to not only get their work done. but so that others do not get hurt or affected by their lack of duty. Throughout the course of war, the media portrayed the war in a way that was not always accurate. There were often biased views or strong rumors were put out by antiwar activists that were intended to trick and anger the country so much as to stop America s involvement in the Vietnam War. It became okay to criticize the government and its ruling faculties without fully understanding everything that was going on. Overall, the people s morale and confidence in the political and military systems dropped severely. The war became an excuse for anything and everything. It was a powder keg for activists to have a chance to be heard and shout their ideas, however unrealistic and unattainable those ideas might be. Part of the extremely hostile environment that soldiers returned to was because of the forces at home that they unknowingly were fighting and had been battling against throughout the duration of the war. One consistent reading I have found was that people like to pretend that there had never been a war. What I mean is that people simply didn t talk about it. One soldier wrote that, it was as if I was down the street buying a loaf of bread with how he was being treated. He even states that his wife, whom he had written to every day, had no true concept of where he had been or what he had done. This created a new, bizarre strain on their relationship. Eventually vets gave up talking about the war because it only created awkward tension between everyone around. In a sense, this is extremely unfair and sad that these thousands of soldiers should feel that they have to be silenced by the masses, that they felt as if they could not have a voice and recount their side of the many stories. Understandably, there is a time and place, but to have the world act as if for the last however long you were simply away on some sort of vacation, while instead of dodging bullets and far worse is to un-voice our militants. Luckily, veterans began to seek out other vets and communities began to form so they could be there for each other. They could meet together whenever they seemed fit and talk and discuss things that were important to them. These meetings became a sort of sanctuary and healing place. Also, the Vietnam War Memorial was created. It is a huge wall listing the names of deceased soldiers. The memorial wall resides in Washington, D.C. and is readily available to the public. This monument known as The Wall is one way that the war became a reality to many people. It lists the names of every soldier lost or missing throughout the entirety of the war. Having been to The Wall myself the summer after my eighth grade year, I have been witness to all it stands for. It is without a doubt a symbol of loss and sorrow, but also of pride and strength. The black granite is unyielding and the row upon row of names does not leave room for misinterpretation. I remember feeling like I was almost in a different world. One of the qualities The Wall was supposed to contain was to be reflective in nature. It had the power to shut up a group of very rambunctious soon to be freshmen in high school students. I would consider that one of the greatest powers known to modern man. Overall, the Vietnam War was a huge part of America s history that still to this day remains shrouded in uncertainty, mystery and dark memories. It was a huge part of a lot of peoples lives and they should not have been punished because of it. Even more so, they should not have been silenced because others could not handle what they had to say. Vietnam veterans endured more than I care to imagine and then had to deal with even more here on the home front. However, their persistence and willingness to go on despite their surroundings, once again, is a credit to their testament, will and strength. When our nation asked us to step up to defend our nation some of us volunteer and others were drafted. In doing so, we became part of something greater than ourselves. We were young and strong and, for a time felt that we were invincible. No matter what the consequences we were ready to fight. When you become part of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), you signal your willingness to stand up for our fellow veterans and our families. You become part of an exclusive community that safeguards the benefits we have earned through our service to our country. Through the thousands of members of VVA that are served annually, VVA presents a united front before Congress on issues that most impact our fellow veterans and our families. VVA took the lead in the fight on Agent Orange and The Value of VVA Membership PTSD, in addition to the more obvious physical wounds that affect veterans. When you join VVA, you add your voice to our fight for all veterans whose service and sacrifices deserve respect and honor as VVA continues to ensure veterans who suffered from exposures to Agent Orange, PTSD, etc. get the care and benefits they earned to lead meaningful lives. You become part of VVA s mission to make sure our nation lives up to the promise that was made to our veterans. There are benefits for those who join. VVA has an established veteran s service representative program that works with all veterans, not just Vietnam veterans. Your membership provides you with a subscription to the award-winning national publication the Veteran and the award-winning Texas Vietnam Veterans News, the VVA Texas State Council newspaper publication, (a member of the Texas Newspaper Association) which is a 36-page tabloid newspaper published twice a year and is mailed to every VVA household in the state to keep members informed on the issues that impact the veteran community. The newspaper can also be accessed electronically at along with issues of the Texas VV Newsletters. The true value of membership is the knowledge that you are part of an important and critical cause, which is to continue to maintain and expand services and advance VVA legislative efforts, both at the national and state level on behalf of us all. Thank you for your membership and thank you all for all you do to make VVA the successful organization it is. Your recruitment of new VVA members is the key to VVA s continued success.

11 T EXAS VV N EWS 11 Every war continues to dwell in the lives it touched, in the lives of those living through that time, and in those absorbed by its historical significance. The Vietnam War lives on famously and infamously dependent on political points of view, but those who have been there, done that have a highly personalized window on their time of that history. Valor in Vietnam focuses on nineteen stories of Vietnam, stories of celebrated characters in the veteran community, compelling war narratives, vignettes of battles, and the emotional impact on the combatants. It is replete with leadership lessons, as well Social Security Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 62 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2013, the Social Security Administration announced 16 OCT. The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 56 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $113,700 from $110,100. Of the estimated 163 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2013, nearly 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum. Information about Medicare changes for 2013, when announced, will be available at gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums. Inflation stayed relatively low over 2012, resulting The VVA Service Officer Training website has been launched and can be found at This new site provides VVA-accredited Service Officers useful tools such as: Forum: Post questions and have them answered by our appellate attorneys; Service Officer search: Enhanced service officer search page to make finding a VVA Service Officer easier; Basic Training: 30 hours of videos from our Summer 2011 Basic Training Class; Advanced Training: For those already accredited and need to recertify; VetPro: Link to our new VetPro nation-wide database; and Links: Finding representation, VA Benefits and veterans law resources, military records, medical research and reference materials, health care and other benefits. The Texas State Council is looking for qualified and dedicated VVA members; particularly in Southeast Texas that wants to become a VVA Service Officer; however, any area in Texas will be welcome. We currently have five VVA VSOs at the Veterans Resource Center in Dallas, Kerrville 2 in the VA Medical Center, Killeen 2 and El Paso 1. This is a volunteer position; therefore, only dedicated VVA members are encouraged to apply. VVA has finally put their Veterans Service Valor in Vietnam Chronicles of Honor; Courage and Sacrifice: Allen B. Clark, Author as valuable insights that are just as applicable today as they were forty years ago. This is an anecdotal history of America s war in Vietnam composed of firsthand narratives by Vietnam War veterans presented in chronological order. They are intense, emotional and highly personal stories. Connecting each of them is a brief historical commentary of that period of the war; the geography of the story and the contemporary strategy written by Dr. Lewis Bob Sorley, West Point class of 1956 and author of A Better War. Social Security & Veterans Disability COLA 2013 in a 2013 COLA that is much less than this year s 3.6 percent bump. The government publishes the annual cost-of-living adjustments typically in late October, based on the percentage increase (if any) in the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of the current year over the average for the third quarter of the last year in which a COLA became effective. The CPI-W measures price changes in food, housing, gas and other goods and services. The 3.6 percent boost in 2012 was the first COLA increase since The average of the July, August and September numbers along with the average figure from the third quarter of 2011 are used to calculate the 2013 COLA. The COLA amount that recipients actually end up with is affected by Medicare Part B premiums, since those premiums are deducted from Social Security payments. The government will announce the 2013 premiums, expected to increase between 5 percent and 10 percent over 2012 rates, later this fall. That means recipients likely will see less than the 1.7 percent expected increase. As Congress debates ways to avoid the fiscal cliff, NARFE is prepared to oppose any NOTICE New VVA Service Officer Training Site Launched Representative training course online. However, the criteria for becoming a VVA Accredited Service Officer has certain conditions that have to be met before a VVA member can take the online course. First you have to go to the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and take their online Veterans Service Representative course that you will have to pay $150 for to take their course. Once completed and you receive your certification stating that you have completed and passed their online course, send a copy of the NVLSP certificate, the VVA Service Officer Application, and VA Form 21 to the state president for his approval. At that time the president will authorize the state treasurer to send you a reimbursement form to allow you to be reimbursed the $150 expense. At that time if you are approved by the state president he will then give you access to the VVA online training course. Once that is completed and passed, the president will forward your application and VA Form 21, along with both the NVLSP and VVA Certificate to VVA National to accredit you as a VVA Accredited Service Officer (VSO). If there is any expense for taking the VVA online training course, you will also be reimbursed after completion as was the NVLSP course. The state council treasurer Jim W Boyd can provide you the VVA Application and VA Form 21. A VVA VSO not affiliated with TVC is required to file quarterly reports to the Texas VVA Chief Service Officer on a form that will be provided to you detailing Allen B. Clark graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in Two years later, in 1965, he volunteered for service in Vietnam and was assigned to the Fifth Special Forces Group. He was wounded in an early morning mortar attack on the Dak To Special Forces camp on June 17, 1967 that necessitated the amputation of both legs below his knees. He lives outside of Dallas in Plano, Texas and is the author of Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior. He is also a member of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 137 Dallas, Texas. changes to the COLA formula that would have an adverse effect on retirees. Veterans The U.S. Senate was widely expected to clear a bill providing a cost-of-living increase for veterans during one of the biweekly pro-forma sessions being held during the congressional recess. But Senate Democratic leaders have set aside action on the bill until the post-election session of Congress because they are concerned that passage by unanimous consent would erode the White House s position in a federal lawsuit challenging the president s recess appointments of Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and three members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It has also been speculated that Democrats balked at this idea so they could continue to claim through Election Day that Republicans are trying to deny a cost-of-living adjustment for veterans. But they also will have a must-pass bill lined up for a vote when Congress returns to work. VA officials have promised veterans will receive the 1.7 percent COLA in January checks as long as the law providing the increase is enacted by the first week of December. the number of clients you have serviced during the quarter. He, in turn, will compile all of the reports and send this quarterly report in to VVA National Veterans Benefits person. Then once a year you are required to attend a TVC training course either the spring or fall course or go online to the VVA VSO training site for Advanced Training to update you on any changes to the Veterans Benefits. To attend TVC training you also have to get permission from the Texas VVA Chief VSO and the State Council President in order to be reimbursed for your updated training expenses (i.e. lodging, mileage and per diem). All travel as a Texas VVA VSO has to be pre-approved by the VVA Chief VSO pertaining to your clients (i.e. to the Waco VVA Regional Office for a hearing subject to available VSO budgeted funds). Effective December 1, 2012 John Cook will be the new Texas VVA Chief Service officer for the state council. The State Council VVA VSO office is now located in the Veterans Resource Center in Dallas, Texas. VVA VSO Office c/o Veterans Resource Center 4900 S. Lancaster Road Dallas, TX Phone: , Ext (John Cook, Mon./Wed./Fri., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) OR Ext (Jim Hallbauer, Tues./Thurs. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

12 12 T EXAS VV N EWS VA Sequestration [Source: Bryant Jordan article 12 Apr 2012] Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs think they would be safe from automatic, across-the-board budget reductions set to take effect in January. But they aren t positive. A VA spokesman said a provision spelling out exemptions appears at first blush to be clear when it states: All programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. But then as I read, I start to nit-pick the words, Veterans Programs (vs. the department), and it is less clear, VA spokesman Randal Noller said in an . This kind of uncertainty is plaguing official Washington in the run-up to the onset of sequestration, the automatic reduction in planned budget growth set to take effect across the government on 2 JAN. Agencies like the VA, its vendors, dependents and others can t be certain about exactly what would happen if the scenario, intended to be so terrible it spurred lawmakers to compromise, actually came to pass. According to Noller and White House spokesman Shin Inouye, the Office of Management and Budget is the department that will decide whether the law exempts the VA from cuts. But OMB is not talking. We have made it clear that we believe that the sequester is, by design, bad policy, OMB spokeswoman Moira Mack said in an . Congress should do its job and pass a balanced plan for deficit reduction as it was charged to pass under the Budget Control Act should it get to a point where it appears that Congress will not do its job and the sequester may take effect, OMB will work with agencies regarding planning, but right now it is time to focus on enacting the balanced framework proposed in the president s budget. The VA did not respond when asked if it has already asked for a ruling or interpretation of the law, though Mack said OMB hasn t issued any guidance on what will happen if sequestration kicks in. Rep. Jeff Miller, (R-FL)., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, has remarked several times on his frustration at not getting the White House or OMB to make a call one way or the other on the question. The administration s inability to make a decision, or to state publicly what it may already have decided, spurred Miller in February to introduce a bill to remove the suspense once and for all. H.R.3895 would definitively exempt VA from sequestration. If the president isn t going to give us any clarity on this issue, my bill will, Miller wrote in an op-ed for Military.com on 8 FEB. That legislation is now in committee. Miller said in the same column that he hoped the lack of clarity was not merely the administration playing politics. Similar charges were made last summer when the debt ceiling battle was raging on Capitol Hill. Then, the administration said it did not know whether a possible government shutdown over failure to raise the debt ceiling would mean troops wouldn t be paid. Ray Kelley, legislative director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said he believes there were some fear tactics used last year, though there was also some truth behind them. There likely would have been checks for troops in the first month of a shutdown, he said, but it s possible there would have been problems after that. He wouldn t characterize the general lack of clarity on sequestration as a scare tactic. He said there really is some confusion over application of the law because the sequestration bill is rooted in a 1985 law that mandated cuts or caps across all departments. Unfortunately, nobody knows anything, he said. The administration has told us directly our commander in chief was at the White House and they said we don t want the VA to fall under sequestration. VFW has gotten the same message from the VA and every member of Congress it has met with, he said. But nobody will make a ruling, he said. Disabled Veterans Exempt from Some Toll Road Fees Veterans with disabilities won t need TxTags to take advantage of a newly-adopted program that waives fees for some veterans on toll roads operated by the Texas Department of Transportation, according to new details released by the agency. Drivers with specialty plates signifying disabled veterans, and Purple Heart and Medal of Honor recipients, qualify for the free tolls. Equipment to read license plates will automatically identify the specialty plates, and veterans do not need to sign up for the program. To receive a disabled-veteran license plate, veterans need a 50 percent service-related disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs or a 40 percent rating due to lower limb amputation. In Central Texas, veterans with disabilities will be able to drive free on the Loop 1 Tollway, Texas 45 North, Texas 45 Southeast and Texas 130 (except for the southern 41 miles between Austin and Seguin, which are being built by a private company and are scheduled to open in October). Veterans also will be able to ride free on the Camino Colombia toll road near Laredo, Texas 99 near Baytown and Loop 49 in Tyler. As of July in Travis County, 3,637 drivers had disabled veteran or Purple Heart license plates, or 0.4 percent of the county s 973,609 registered vehicles. The program, which will go into effect Jan. 1, was adopted last month after the American-Statesman reported in July that local toll authorities had not implemented a 2009 law authorizing them to let veterans drive free on toll roads. At the time, TxDOT officials said adopting such a program could translate into a 10 percent reduction in revenue; some toll agency officials around the state worried that the program could lead to discounts for other needy groups. TxDOT officials said they have since performed another revenue analysis and discovered that the program would not have as large an impact as originally predicted. The Harris County Toll Road Authority, which adopted a free toll program for veterans with disabilities in 2009, said that group accounts for less than 1 percent of all toll transactions. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which operates 183-A in Williamson County, voted in 2010 to implement the program only if the Legislature agrees to fund it. Basil L. Plumley, a renowned career soldier whose exploits as an Army infantryman were portrayed in a book and the movie We Were Soldiers, died 10 OCT at 92 an age his friends are amazed that he lived to see. Plumley fought in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. His Army awards included the Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster and the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster. He made all four combat jumps with the 82nd Airborne in World War II and one in Korea making him one of a handful of men to receive three awards of the Combat Infantryman s Badge. The list of his awards and decorations fill half a page (typed single space). Friends said Plumley, who died in hospice care in west Georgia, never told war stories and was known to hang up on people who called In Memoriam CSM Basil L. Plumley [Source: Fox News 10 Oct 2012] to interview him. Still, he was nearlegendary in the Army and gained more widespread fame through a 1992 Vietnam War book that was the basis for the 2002 movie starring Mel Gibson. Actor Sam Elliott played Plumley in the film. Along with Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, Plumley led the Army s 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment in the November 1965 battle that saw 450 U.S. forces face off against 2,000 troops from the North Vietnamese army in the first major engagement between the two armies. More than 230 U.S. troops were killed. In the 2002 film version, Mel Gibson played Moore and Elliott played Plumley. Galloway said several of Elliott s gruff one-liners in the movie were things Plumley actually said, such as the scene in which a soldier tells the sergeant major good morning and is told: Who made you the (expletive) weather man? Sam Elliott underplayed him. He was actually tougher than that, Galloway said. He was gruff, monosyllabic, a terror when it came to enforcing standards of training. That s not to say he was mean or inhuman, Galloway said. This was a man above all else who had a very big, warm heart that he concealed very well. Plumley retired with the rank command sergeant major in 1974 at Fort Benning, his last duty station. He then took a civilian job doing administrative work for the next 15 years at Martin Army Community Hospital. Camp said Plumley remained strong until just a few weeks before his death. He helped open the Army s National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning in Camp, who now works for the museum s fundraising foundation, said Plumley helped him get Elliott to come narrate a ceremony dedicating the parade ground outside the museum. When Camp mentioned the actor s name, Plumley handed him Elliott s cell phone number. After Plumley became ill, Galloway mentioned his worsening condition on Facebook. Fans of the retired sergeant major responded with a flood of cards and letters. The day before he died in hospice, Camp said, Plumley received about 160 pieces of mail. He was dad to me when I was growing up, said Kimble, Plumley s daughter. We are learning every day about him. He was an inspiration to so many. He was a great person, and will always be remembered.

13 T EXAS VV N EWS 13 Military History Anniversaries Apr Vietnam: The Easter Offensive begins - North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern Apr Vietnam: Operation Pegasus was launched by the 1st Air Cavalry Division to relieve the marines at Khe Sanh. Apr Vietnam: Easter Offensive - American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments. Apr Vietnam: For the first time since NOV 67, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam. Apr Vietnam: 1st B-52 bombing on North Vietnam Apr WWII: American troops enter Nuremberg Germany Apr Vietnam: American General William Westmoreland says that the enemy had gained support in the U.S. States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily. Apr Vietnam: Saigon is encircled by North Vietnamese troops. Apr Vietnam: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to fight communist sanctuaries in Cambodia. Apr Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate US citizens from Saigon prior to an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end. Apr Vietnam: The North Vietnamese launch an invasion of the South. Apr Vietnam: North Vietnamese troops enter the Independence Palace of South Vietnam in Saigon ending the Vietnam War. May Vietnam: Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans settled out of court for $180 Million. May Vietnam: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill. May Vietnam: US marines arrive in Laos. May : The U.S. Army Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) reverted to the full control of Japan but the U.S. retained its rights to nuclear free bases. May Vietnam: U.S. planes bomb Hanoi for the first time. May Vietnam: US troop capture Hill 937/Hamburger Hill May Vietnam: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam. May Vietnam: Viet Cong offensive against U.S. base Da Nang begins Jun The Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne slices the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half off the shore of South Vietnam killing 74 American sailors Jun Vietnam: US troops ordered to fight offensively. Jun Six-Day War: The Naval Intelligence ship USS Liberty attacked in the Mediterranean by Israel killing 34 and wounding 171. Jun Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Xoai begins Jun Vietnam: 1st U.S. ground combat forces authorized by Pres Johnson Jun Vietnam: U.S. planes bomb Hanoi & Haiphong for 1st time Jul Vietnam: 23 day Siege of Fire Base Ripcord began Jul Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh orders a partial mobilization of to defend against American airstrikes. Jul Vietnam: New Zealand and Australia announce they will pull their troops out of Vietnam. Jul Vietnam: The French sign an armistice with the Viet Minh that ends the war but divides Vietnam into two countries. Jul Vietnam: B-52 bombers hit the DMZ between North and South Vietnam for the first time. Jul The Geneva Conference on Laos forbids the United States to invade eastern Laos. Jul Vietnam: President Lyndon Johnson sends an additional 5,000 advisers to South Vietnam. Jul Vietnam: LBJ sends 50,000 more soldiers to Vietnam (total of 125,000) Jul Fire aboard carrier USS Forrestal in Gulf of Tonkin kills 134. $100 million damage Aug Vietnam: The U.S.S. Maddox and Turner Joy exchange fire with North Vietnamese patrol boats. Aug Vietnam: Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the president to use unlimited military force to prevent attacks on U.S. forces. Aug Vietnam: The last U.S. ground forces withdraw from Vietnam. Aug Vietnam: American installations at Quan-Loi come under Viet Cong attack. Aug Vietnam: The United States ends the secret bombing of Cambodia. Aug Vietnam War: A coup d état replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy. Aug Vietnam War: The House UnAmerican Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested Sep Vietnam: Operation Swift begins: U.S. Marines engage the North Vietnamese in battle in the Que Son Valley. Sep Vietnam: The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in country. Sep Vietnam: South Vietnamese troops recapture Quang Tri province in South Vietnam from the North Vietnamese Army. Sep Vietnam: Siege of Con Thien Began. Sep Vietnam: North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration of South Vietnam. Sep Vietnam: U.S. destroyers fire on hostile targets. Sep Vietnam: Seven U.S. planes are downed in one day. Sep Maiden flight of the CH47 Chinook transportation helicopter. Oct Korea: U.S. forces in Saigon receive permission to use tear gas Oct Vietnam: Hanoi insists the United States must end its bombings before peace talks can begin. Oct Vietnam: Operation Jefferson Glenn ends. The last major operation in which US ground forces participated. Oct Vietnam: U.S. forces in launch Operation Sealord, an attack on North Vietnamese supply lines and base areas in the Mekong Delta. Oct Vietnam: U.S. Forces launch Operation Robin in Hoa Province south of Saigon to provide road security between villages. Oct Oct Vietnam: The 5 ½ month Operation Linebreaker I bombing of North Vietnam ended. Bombing resumed as Linebreaker II from 18 to 29 DEC. Oct Vietnam War: The 1st Air Cavalry Division launch a new operation, seeking to destroy North Vietnamese forces in Pleiku in the Central Highlands. Oct Vietnam: U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam. Nov Vietnam: President Lyndon B. Johnson calls a halt to bombing in Vietnam, hoping this will lead to progress at the Paris peace talks. Nov Vietnam: Beginning of he Battle of Dak To (311 NOV). Nov Vietnam: American troops broke a North Vietnamese 6 day assault at Loc Ninh, near the Cambodian border. Nov Vietnam : Operation Commando Hunt initiated. The goal was to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam Nov Vietnam: U.S. Army Special Forces raid the Son Tay prison camp in North Vietnam but find no prisoners. Nov Vietnam: My Lai Massacre Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story. Nov The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans Nov Vietnam: President Kennedy increases the number of American advisors in Vietnam from 1,000 to 16,000. Nov Vietnam: Battle of Chu Ponia Drang River. U.S. 1st Calvary fought North Vietnamese regulars The second battle was fought by ARVN Airborne Brigade 1826 NOV. Nov Vietnam: A quarter of a million antiwar demonstrators march in Washington, D.C. Military History: Operation Commando Hunt was a covert U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction campaign that took place during the Vietnam War. The operation began on 11 November 1968 and ended on 29 March The objective of the campaign was to prevent the transit of People s Army of Vietnam personnel and supplies on the logistical corridor known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail that ran from the southwestern Democratic Republic of Vietnam through the southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos and into the Republic of Vietnam. The goal of the Commando Hunt campaigns was not to halt infiltration, but to make the North Vietnamese pay too heavy a price for their effort. Corollary to this was the destruction of as much of their logistical system as possible and to tie down as many of the North Vietnamese forces in static security roles as possible. Aerial interdiction could not succeed unless Hanoi felt the pressure and relented. The seed of the campaign s failure, however, was sown in its first operation. Despite the expenditure of an enormous amount of ordnance over five years, the level of that pressure was never going to be sufficient to deter Hanoi from its goal of supplying its troops in the south. The attachment to this Bulletin titled, Operation Commando Hunt covers the five year history of this operation and the reasons for the ultimate failure of the American forces in achieving their goal. [Source: Operation_Commando_Hunt Oct 2012] Military Trivia 60: Vietnam GI Jargon 1. During the Vietnam war, US infantrymen had the MOS number 11B also called 11 Bravo. What did the average soldier call the B? 2. During the Vietnam War, what did soldiers and Marines call the M60 machine gun? 3. During the Vietnam War, who was a cherry? An old soldier 4. During the Vietnam war, what did infantrymen call a long forced march? 5. During the Vietnam War the US Army in the field was composed primarily of draftees. What did servicemen usually call a career soldier? 6. While in base camp, what was the most common way of disposing of human waste? 7. During the Vietnam War, unpopular officers were sometimes eliminated by the men. What term described this process? 8. During the Vietnam War, US servicemen used drugs at times. What would a bowl be used for? 9. During the Vietnam war, what did most infantrymen despise the most? 10. After surviving a year in the Nam, where would a US serviceman usually be going? MILITARY HISTORY, continued on page 14

14 14 T EXAS VV N EWS MILITARY HISTORY, continued from page 13 ANSWERS: 1. Almost every soldier who was 11B was headed to the Nam. Soldiers called themselves 11 bush. Hello Vietnam! 2. Servicemen called the M60 machine gun a pig or a hog. It received that name because of the ammo it ate. 3. Infantrymen who were new in country were referred to as cherries or newbies or as various unprintables. 4. Infantrymen called a long forced march a hump or humpin. This term is still used. 5. Draftees usually called the career soldier or Marines a lifer as well as other unprintables. 6. While US forces served in Vietnam, human waste was burned. 7. The men used a fragmentation grenade to rid themselves of an officer or NCO who they disliked or distrusted. The act was called fragging. It was rare, but it did happen. 8. During the Vietnam War, US servicemen used drugs at times. What would a bowl be used for? 9. The correct answer was rear echelon soldiers 10. If a serviceman survived his tour in Vietnam, he was headed back to the world otherwise known as home. A discharge from the US Army and back to normalcy. [Source: trivia-quiz/history/gi-jargon-vietnam- War html Oct 2012] Stolen Valor Stolen Valor Dan Groves [Source: The Salt Lake Tribune Kristen Moulton article 23 Apr 2012] POWs from the Vietnam War contend that Dave Groves, a West Jordan man honored last week by the Veterans Administration and years ago by the University of Utah, was never held captive in Vietnam. Groves does not appear on a database of Department of Defense Vietnam-era POWs, compiled from military records. He s a typical liar, said Mike McGrath, historian of Nam-POW, a nonprofit organization of Vietnam prisoners of war. There are 540 of us still alive from Vietnam, and we have 3,000 wannabees who want to be us. Groves, who has hired an attorney after a week of online challenges to his truthfulness, insists he was a POW who for unexplained reasons does not appear in the Pentagon s database. We are retaining legal counsel. Until then we have no further comment except to say these accusations are entirely false and defamatory, Groves wife, Fran Groves, said 20 APR. On 13 APR, Groves was one of nearly two dozen men honored at a luncheon for POWs hosted by the Veterans Administration in Salt Lake City. Fran Groves said last weekend that the couple have been invited to the annual luncheon since 1992; they have a commemorative plaque from the VA hanging in their home. In 2000, Groves was honored at the University of Utah s annual Veterans Day celebration, where he shared the roster with nine other men praised for wartime heroics. At the U. event, typically one of Utah s biggest on Veterans Day, Groves was applauded as a highly decorated soldier. The program and a short biography still displayed on the U. s Veterans Day website says Groves was awarded three Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and two Crosses of Gallantry. That information came from an interview the university conducted with Groves before the event, said Keith Sterling, spokesman at the U. The university s marketing and communications office, which stages the event, no longer has a file on Groves because the event was nearly 12 years ago, Sterling said. Such files typically include nomination forms and some documentation of a military record. At the 13 APR VA luncheon, Groves said in an interview that he was held captive by the North Vietnamese for six months after his unit, part of the Army s 5th Special Forces, was ambushed. He said he was the only survivor of the ambush, and escaped with other U.S. servicemen, spending two weeks in the jungle before they were found by a Marine patrol. The VA has not yet responded to questions, submitted 18 APR, about how it vets its honorees. Spokesman James Brown said a response is expected Tuesday. Mary Schantag, chairwoman of the board of P.O.W. Network, which keeps an online database about former POWs and purported phonies, said she is convinced Groves is the latter. She filed a request with the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis earlier this week for Groves military records. She said that an NPRC employee told her in a phone conversation 20 APR that he could find no military record for Groves in the database. She is expecting a written notice to that effect in the mail. The Tribune also filed a request for Groves military records, considered the definitive evidence of service. While the DOD database is rarely wrong, one former POW questioned by the network did prove he was held in Vietnam and mistakenly left off the list, McGrath said. In all of the 3,000 cases [investigated by P.O.W. Network] only one was correct that he was a POW, McGrath said. Schantag said the P.O.W. Network flagged Groves in 2003 after he participated in a VA luncheon, but whether the VA was ever informed about the network s suspicions is not clear. Dale Osborne of Salt Lake City, who spent four and a half years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, said he can t understand why anyone would claim to have been imprisoned. There was no valor in being captured, said Osborne, who was in the Navy. Nonetheless, he said, We did go through four or five years of starvation and torture. To have someone come up and claim, I did too, it just burns me up. The Groves case reveals another side to the ongoing scourge of stolen valor. Even when the Pentagon does make a database available, as it does for POWs and those missing in action, it doesn t mean that organizations honoring veterans will make inquires. Investigating whether a person served in the military or earned medals for combat wounds or valor is much more difficult. There is no public database for those, and it can take months or years to get a response from the St. Louis center. Schantag and McGrath said the VA has mistakenly listed people as POWs in the past. A 2009 investigation by The Associated Press found the VA paying disability benefits to 966 Vietnam POWs even though there were then only about 550 living, according to the Department of Defense. The VA also was giving disability payments to 286 veterans who claimed to have been taken prisoner during the first Gulf War, although the Department of Defense at the time said there were only 21 surviving POWs from that conflict. They believe these frauds and grant them benefits and money based on falsehoods, McGrath said. Stolen Valor Command Sergeant Major William John Roy [Source: Chicago Tribune Dan Whitcomb article 6 Jun 2012] A U.S. Army soldier who prosecutors say falsely claimed to have fought in Vietnam and Afghanistan - and to have earned two Purple Heart medals and a Bronze Star for heroism was indicted on federal charges on 6 JUN. Command Sergeant Major William John Roy is accused of lying about his service as he sought disability, medical and educational benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Attorney s spokesman Thom Mrozek said. Roy, 57, was awarded more than $27,000 in disability benefits and $30,000 in educational benefits after submitting bogus evidence of his combat wounds and bravery in action, Mrozek said. According to an indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Roy claimed he served as a medic in Vietnam in 1974 and was twice injured in combat during that war. Roy also claimed that he was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze star for his heroism in Vietnam when in fact an investigation found that he had been in Germany serving in a non-combat role at the time, Mrozek said. Among the documentation Roy provided was a Purple Heart certificate purportedly signed by President Richard Nixon but dated four months after Nixon had resigned from office, Mrozek said. Roy also sent a letter to the Army in 2008 seeking a Purple Heart for extensive injuries he said he sustained in a mortar and rocket attack at a forward operating base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, when in fact he was not involved in such an incident, Mrozek said. Roy was indicted on one count of presenting false writings to defraud the United States, three counts of making false statements to the government and three counts of stealing government property. He faces a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison if convicted at trial. Mrozek said Roy, who remains on active duty, would be sent a summons to appear in federal court next month for an arraignment on the charges. Stolen Valor Timothy Michael Poe [Source: FoxNews.com AP article 5 Jun 2012] A singer who appeared on the NBC show America s Got Talent and claimed he was injured during a grenade blast in Afghanistan has no military record of his purported combat injuries, the Minnesota National Guard said 5 JUN. Timothy Michael Poe appeared on the nationally televised show 4 JUN. He told the judges he spent 14 years in the military, and suffered a broken back and brain injury when he was hit by a grenade in Afghanistan in I had volunteered for a team to go out and clear buildings and help out with the wounded, Poe said during a taped interview on the show. There was a guy who come up with a rocket-propelled grenade. I saw it coming down, and by the time I turned and went to jump on top of my guys, I yelled grenade and the blast had hit me. According to military records, Poe served with the Minnesota Army National Guard from December 2002 through May 2011, working as a supply specialist. Records show he was deployed in Kosovo from Oct. 10, 2007 to July 15, 2008, and then served in Afghanistan for about a month in Sgt. Poe s official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports, Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for the Minnesota National Guard, said in a statement. Olson noted that Poe did not receive the Purple Heart, which is given to those who are injured in enemy combat. Poe didn t claim he had received the award. We looked very closely at his record. Olson said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, We did not find something to substantiate what he said. Neither Poe nor NBC returned telephone messages from the AP. Poe told the judges that he was from San Antonio, Texas. The television show listed his age as 35. Poe had a stutter when he spoke with the judges, which he attributed to his brain injury. The stutter disappeared when he sang. He also didn t appear to stutter when he spoke with the show s host after his performance. When he was describing his injury, Poe said during the video clip: When I was laying there I thought I d never see my daughter walk down the aisle or throw the baseball with my son or be able to hold them and see them I didn t want my life to be over. He said singing has helped him deal with the injury. I m just happy to be here, he told the judges. In a subsequent 23 minute interview on the military-focused podcast You Served [ youserved/2012/06/06/interview-withtim-poe] he admitted that he, in fact, did not earn medals he once claimed to have received, but maintains he suffers from traumatic brain injury, despite assertions by military officials to the contrary. He said the Minnesota National Guard officials who dispute his claim do not have all of his medical records and he is willing to release his medical records supporting his diagnosis. The military blog You Served blogtalkradio.com/youserved plans to post them on its site if and when received. VALOR, continued on page 17

15 T EXAS VV N EWS 15 POW/MIA Updates [Source: The number of Americans who remain missing from conflicts in this century are: World War II (73,000+), Korean War (7,900+), Cold War (126), Vietnam War (1,655), 1991 Gulf War (0), and OEF/OIF (6). Keeping the Promise, Fulfill their Trust and No one left behind are several of many mottos that refer to the efforts of the Department of Defense to recover those who became missing while serving our nation. More than 83,000 Americans are missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War. Hundreds of Defense Department men and women both military and civilian work in organizations around the world as part of DoD s personnel recovery and personnel accounting communities. They are all dedicated to the single mission of finding and bringing our missing personnel home. For a listing of all personnel accounted for since 2007 refer to mil/dpmo/accounted_for. For additional information on the Defense Department s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the Department of Defense POW/ Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) web site at or call (703) The remains of the following MIA/POW s have been recovered, identified, and scheduled for burial since the publication of the last Texas VV News: Vietnam Army Capt. Charles R. Barnes Army Capt. Charles R. Barnes, 27, of Philadelphia, Pa., will be buried 2 MAY, in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On March 16, 1969, Barnes and four other service members departed Qui Nhon Airfields bound for Da Nang and Phu Bai, in a U-21A Ute aircraft. As they approached Da Nang, they encountered low clouds and poor visibility. Communications with the aircraft were lost, and they did not land as scheduled. Immediate search efforts were limited due to hazardous weather conditions, and all five men were list as missing in action. From , unidentified human remains were turned over to the U.S. from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) in several different instances. None of the remains were identified given the limits of the technology of the time. In 1993, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team, led by the Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command(JPAC), conducted investigations in Quang Nam-Da Nang, and Thua Thien- Hue Provinces. interviewed a local Vietnamese citizen who supplied remains and an identification tag bearing Barnes name, which he claimed to have recovered from an aircraft crash site. In 1999, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team interviewed additional Vietnamese citizens about the crash and they were led to the crash site. In 2000, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the site and recovered human remains and material evidence. Scientists from the JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory Among used circumstantial evidence, and forensic identification tools such as mitochondrial DNA which matched that of Barnes sister in the identification of the remains. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Arden K. Hassenger DPMO announced 30 MAY that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Arden K. Hassenger, 32, of Lebanon, Oregon, burial was scheduled for 8 JUN in his hometown. On Dec. 24, 1965, Hassenger, and the crew of the AC-47D aircraft nicknamed Spooky failed to return from a combat strike mission in southern Laos. After a mayday signal was sent, all contact was lost with the crew. Two days of search efforts for the aircraft and crew were unsuccessful. In 1995, a joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team investigated a crash in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Local villagers recalled seeing a two-propeller aircraft, similar to an AC-47D, crash in December One man had found aircraft wreckage in a nearby field while farming, and led the team to that location. The team recovered small pieces of aircraft wreckage at that time and recommended further investigative visits. Joint U.S./ L.P.D.R. investigation and recovery teams re-visited the site four times from 1999 to They conducted additional interviews with locals, recovered military equipment, and began an excavation. No human remains were recovered, so the excavation was suspended pending additional investigation. In 2010, joint U.S./L.P.D.R. recovery teams again excavated the crash site. The team recovered human remains, personal items, and military equipment. Three additional excavations in 2011 recovered additional human remains and evidence. Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental records and material evidence to identify Hassenger. With the accounting of this airman, 1,666 service members still remain missing from the Vietnam War. Air Force Lt. Col. Edward D. Silver DPMO announced 5 JUN that the remains of two U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. Air Force Lt. Col. Edward D. Silver, 34, of Junction City, Oregon, will be buried on June 6, in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington D.C. On June 7, there will be a group burial service at Arlington National Cemetery honoring Silver and the other crew member, Maj. Bruce E. Lawrence, 25, of Easton, Pennsylvania. Lawrence was buried on Sept. 21, 2011, in his hometown. On July 5, 1968, Silver and Lawrence, were flying the lead F-4C Phantom II aircraft of a two-ship formation, on a night armed-reconnaissance of enemy targets, in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Other pilots flying in the area reported that they witnessed anti-aircraft fire striking the aircraft shortly before it crashed. No parachutes or signs of survivors were seen. In 1993, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) team traveled to Quang Binh Province to investigate a possible site related to the crash. Harsh terrain and safety concerns limited access to the location of the aircraft. From 1998 to 2000, joint U.S./S.R.V. teams interviewed witnesses, excavated several aircraft crash sites in the area, and recovered human remains. Additional recovery of military equipment, related to Silver and Lawrence s crash, confirmed that two individuals were in the aircraft at the time of the incident. Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA which matched that of both Lawrence and Silver s living relatives as well as nuclear DNA to identify the two men. Navy Lt. William E. Swanson DPMO announced 7 JUN that the remains of a U.S. service man, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Navy Lt. William E. Swanson, 27, of Zimmerman, Minn., will be buried June 11, at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis. On April 11, 1965, Swanson was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider aircraft that crashed while on an armed reconnaissance mission over Khammouan Province, Laos. Other Americans in the area reported seeing his aircraft being struck by enemy fire and no parachute was deployed prior to the crash. Recovery efforts were not possible due to enemy presence in the days following the crash. In October 2000, a joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team was investigating a different crash in Khammouan Province. Local villagers reported an aircraft crash site nearby, in the mountains north of the town of Boualapha. The team surveyed the site and found small pieces of aircraft wreckage, and unexploded bombs and rockets of the same type that Swanson s A-1H had been carrying. In 2009, a joint U.S./L.P.D.R. recovery team excavated the site and found material evidence and military equipment. In 2010, another U.S./L.P.D.R. team completed the excavation and recovered human remains and additional evidence. Two data plates, with numbers matching Swanson s aircraft, were found at the site. Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used circumstantial and material evidence to identify Swanson s remains. Air Force Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III, DPMO announced 7 JUN that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Air Force Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried June 9, in his hometown. On March 1, 1969, Meroney was a crew member aboard an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Kahammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing Meroney s aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts. In 1994, a joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team investigated the crash site in Khammouan Province, Laos. The team located aircraft wreckage of an F-4 and military equipment, which correlated with Meroney s aircraft. From 2000 to 2011, additional joint U.S/ L.P.D.R recovery teams investigated and excavated the crash site multiple times. Teams recovered human remains, and military equipment, including an engine data plate, a radio call-sign plate, and a military identification card bearing Meroney s name. Scientists from the JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including dental comparisons, and radiograph comparisons in the identification of Meroney. Air Force Lt. Col. Charles M. Walling DPMO announced 12 JUN that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were POW/MIA, continued on page 16

16 16 T EXAS VV N EWS POW/MIA, continued from page 15 identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors., 27, of Phoenix, will be buried June 15, at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. There will be a group burial honoring Walling and fellow crew member, Maj. Aado Kommendant, 25, of Lakewood, N.J., at Arlington National Cemetery, on Aug. 8 the 46th anniversary of the crash that took their lives. On Aug. 8, 1966, Walling and Kommendant were the crew of an F-4C aircraft that crashed while on a close air support mission over Song Be Province, Vietnam. Other Americans in the area reported seeing the aircraft crash and no parachutes were deployed. Search and rescue efforts were not successful in the days following the crash. In 1992, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) team investigated the crash site and interviewed a local Vietnamese citizen who had recovered aircraft pieces from the site. In 1994, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the site and recovered a metal identification tag, bearing Walling s name, and other military equipment. In 2010, the site was excavated again, and human remains and additional evidence were recovered. Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial and material evidence, along with forensic identification tools including mitochondrial DNA which matched Walling s living sister in the identification of the remains. Air Force Capt. Clyde W. Campbell of Longview, Texas DPMO announced 19 JUN that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Air Force Capt. Clyde W. Campbell, 24, of Longview, Texas, will be buried June 21, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On March 1, 1969, Campbell was a pilot aboard an A-1J Skyraider aircraft that crashed while carrying out a close airsupport mission in Houaphan Province, Laos. American forward air controllers, directing the mission nearby, reported hearing an explosion they believed to be Campbell s bombs later learned Campbell s aircraft had crashed. No parachutes were seen in the area. In 1997, a joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team investigated a crash site in Houaphan Province, Laos, within 100 meters of the last known location of Campbell. In addition to human remains, the team located aircraft wreckage and military equipment, which correlated with Campbell s aircraft. From 2009 to 2010, additional joint U.S./L.P.D.R. recovery teams investigated and excavated the crash site three times. Teams recovered additional human remains, military equipment including an aircraft data plate and a.38-caliber pistol matching the serial number issued to Campbell. Scientists from the JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools in the identification of Campbell. Air Force 1st Lt. Robert E. Bennett III DPMO announced 29 JUN that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Air Force 1st Lt. Robert E. Bennett III, 25, of Springfield, N.J., will be buried on July 7, in Montrose, Colo. On Dec. 13, 1967, Bennett and another officer were flying an F-4C Phantom II aircraft that crashed during a close-air support mission in Tra Vinh Binh Province, South Vietnam. Both men ejected and were seen landing in the Co Chien River. The other officer was rescued immediately by a nearby U.S. Navy patrol boat. Before he could be reached, Bennett sank into the water and presumably drowned. In 2010, a Vietnamese citizen reported to authorities that he discovered human remains and military equipment while dredging sand from the Tien River. The remains, found approximately 2,000 meters from Bennett s last-known location, were turned over to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). Scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including mitochondrial DNA which matched a hair sample found in Bennett s military medical record in the identification of the remains. Air Force Col. Joseph Christiano DPMO announced 5 JUL that the remains of U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. Air Force Col. Joseph Christiano, 43, of Rochester, N.Y.; Col. Derrell B. Jeffords, 40, of Florence, S.C.; Lt. Col. Dennis L. Eilers, 27, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chief Master Sgt. William K. Colwell, 44, Glen Cove, N.Y.; Chief Master Sgt. Arden K. Hassenger, 32, of Lebanon, Ore.; and Chief Master Sgt. Larry C. Thornton, 33, Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be buried as a group July 9, in a single casket representing the entire crew, in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On Dec. 24, 1965, the crew was aboard an AC-47D aircraft nicknamed Spooky that failed to return from a combat strike mission in southern Laos. After a mayday signal was sent, all contact was lost with the crew. Following the crash, two days of search efforts for the aircraft and crew were unsuccessful. In 1995, a joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team investigated a crash in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Local villagers recalled seeing a twopropeller aircraft, similar to an AC-47D, crash in December A local man found aircraft wreckage in a nearby field while farming, and led the team to that location. The team recovered small pieces of aircraft wreckage at that time and recommended further investigative visits. Joint U.S./L.P.D.R. investigation and recovery teams re-visited the site four times from 1999 to They conducted additional interviews with locals, recovered military equipment, and began an excavation. No human remains were recovered, so the excavation was suspended pending additional investigation. In 2010, joint U.S./L.P.D.R. recovery teams again excavated the crash site. The team recovered human remains, personal items, and military equipment. Three additional excavations in 2011 recovered additional human remains and evidence. Scientists from the Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command used dental records and circumstantial evidence in the identification of their remains. Air Force Lt. Col. Charles M. Walling and Maj. Aado Kommemdamt DPMO announced 6 JUL that the remains of U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identified., 27, of Phoenix, and Maj. Aado Kommendant, 25, of Lakewood, N.J., were buried as a group at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C., on Aug. 8 the 46th anniversary of the crash that took their lives. Walling was individually buried on June 15, at Arlington National Cemetery. On Aug. 8, 1966, Walling and Kommendant were the crew of an F-4C aircraft that crashed while on a close air support mission over Song Be Province, Vietnam. Other Americans in the area reported seeing the aircraft crash and no parachutes were deployed. Search and rescue efforts were not successful in the days following the crash. In 1992, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) team investigated the crash site and interviewed a local Vietnamese citizen who had recovered aircraft pieces from the site. In 1994, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the site and recovered a metal identification tag, bearing Walling s name, and other military equipment. In 2010, the site was excavated again, and human remains and additional evidence were recovered. Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial and material evidence, along with forensic identification tools including mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains. Air Force Col. Wendell Keller & Air Force Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III DPMO announced 2 OCT that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried, as a group, with full military honors. Air Force Col. Wendell Keller, 34, of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Meroney was interred individually on June 9, in his hometown. On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts. From 1994 to 2011, joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Khammouan Province, Laos. The teams located human remains, military equipment, a military identification card, and aircraft wreckage of an F-4, including an engine data plate and radio call-sign plate. During the 17 years, analysts evaluated the material evidence and the accounts of more than 40 eyewitnesses to confirm the information correlated with the crew s loss location. To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including dental comparisons and radiograph comparisons. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jerry M. Wall DPMO announced 23 OCT that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, killed in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jerry M. Wall, 24, of Jacksonville, Texas, will be buried Oct. 26, in San Antonio. On May 18, 1966, Wall and four other crew members were aboard a C-123B Provider aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime flare-drop mission over Binh Dinh, South Vietnam. Nearby U.S. ground troops reported seeing Wall s aircraft hit by enemy ground fire and crash. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented immediate search and rescue efforts. Later that day the remains of three of the five crew members were recovered. From 2007 to 2012, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams conducted interviews and excavations of the crash site in Binh Dinh Province. Department of Defense casualty and life support experts identified the location as Wall s possible loss site. The teams excavated the site and found human remains, military equipment, a military identification tag bearing Wall s information, and aircraft wreckage of a C-123. In the identification of the remains, scientists from the Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as radiograph, dental records and mitochondrial DNA which matched Wall s mother. Marine Corps Pfc. James J. Jacques DPMO announced 4 OCT that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Marine Corps Pfc. James J. Jacques, 18, of Denver, will be buried Oct. 9, in his hometown. On May 12, 1975, Khmer Rouge gunboats captured the S.S. Mayaguez in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of Cambodia. The vessel was taken to Koh [island] Tang. Alerted to the capture, U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft began surveillance flights around the island. After efforts to secure the release of the ship and its crew failed, U.S. military forces were ordered to undertake a rescue mission. Three days after the Mayaguez seizure, six Air Force helicopters were dispatched to the island. One of the helicopters came under heavy enemy fire as it approached the eastern beach of the island. The aircraft crashed into the surf with 26 men on board. Half were rescued at sea, leaving Jacques and

17 T EXAS VV N EWS other service members unaccountedfor. The United States, Cambodian and Vietnamese government efforts to resolve the cases of these unaccounted-for service members was massive. Between 1991 and 2008, U.S. and Cambodian investigators conducted multiple joint investigations, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). Additionally, on three occasions Cambodian authorities unilaterally turned over remains believed to be those of American servicemen. In 1995, U.S. and Cambodian specialists conducted an underwater recovery of the helicopter crash site where they located remains, personal effects and aircraft debris associated with the loss. The U.S.S. Brunswick, a Navy salvage vessel, enabled the specialists to conduct their excavation off shore. In the identification of the recovered remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) analyzed circumstantial evidence and used forensic identification tools, such as mitochondrial DNA which matched Jacques brother. VALOR, continued from page 14 Stolen Valor Kenneth Aden, a former Army Staff Sergeant [Source: Military.com Bryant Jordan article 29 Jun 2012] Questions still linger over claims made by an Arkansas 3rd district congressional candidate who said he served as a Green Beret even though official records did not substantiate his entire story. Kenneth Aden, a former Army staff sergeant who is running in Arkansas 3rd District as a Democrat against incumbent Rep. Steve Womack, has said in interviews that he served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret. Aden s campaign has circulated several documents to support his claim, including June 2008 orders awarding him a Special Forces military occupation specialty, or MOS. But according to a spokeswoman for the Special Warfare Training Center at Fort Bragg, N.C., that order tells only half the story. The other half would be the subsequent order rescinding that MOS, said Jennifer Martin. When the students were entering the 18 Bravo training they would issue the orders [for the 18B MOS], and if they didn t pass the training they would issue new orders to revoke the first, Martin said. She said the Training Center has directed a copy of the revocation order be located and pulled from the storage files. Aden did not respond to Military. com s request for an interview but acknowledged in a statement released 28 JUN by his campaign that it had misspoke about serving with a Green Beret unit. But the candidate also insisted he earned the Special Forces designation. Aden s campaign released a statement in response to an article published in the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette on 28 JUN questioning his SF background. Campaign spokesman Vince Leibowitz defended Aden s claims in phone calls and s to Military.com over several days. Leibowitz said Fort Bragg officials are mistaken, that Aden successfully completed the Special Forces Qualification Course known as the Q-Course and became a Green Beret. The orders were not temporary, and the 18B MOS was listed on his DD-214, Leibowitz said, referring to the military document that represents a snapshot of a servicemember s career. He said Aden maintained the MOS throughout his service and that it was noted on multiple documents. The documents Leibowitz provided included the second page of an evaluation report and a recommendation for an Army Commendation Medal. Because Aden was injured very soon after completing the course losing parts of two fingers on one hand when a door slammed on it he was never assigned to a Special Forces unit, said Leibowitz. Instead, Aden was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. The DD-214 released by the campaign lists Iraq as a duty assignment and also notes an 18B Special Forces weapons sergeant MOS underneath his 11C specialty code. There are no references to Afghanistan, where he said he also served. The military education block makes no reference to SF training and there is no listing of an SF Tab authorization in the box for decorations, medals and badges. When asked by Military.com to provide a copy of the diploma given to each graduate of the Q-Course Leibowitz said Aden could not find it and would have to order a copy from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, which houses veterans service records. Word that Aden was embellishing his service record first broke on the blog ThisAintHell, according to retired Special Forces Master Sgt. Jeff Hinton, who regularly outs phony veterans on his own website, professionalsoldiers.com/. Hinton said he began contacting his own sources in the Special Forces community and quickly learned that Aden wasn t being honest about his Green Beret background. Ken Aden is just another example of a fraud using the Green Beret reputation for political gain, Hinton said. Aden, like many others, has been exposed by the real Green Berets. We are not fooled or amused and as Aden now knows, we are watching. Stolen Valor Paul A. Schroeder, 40, of The Woodlands, Texas [Source: Houston chronicle article 28 Jun 2012] The former director of counseling at a nonprofit for veterans in Houston was charged by the Houston Division of the United States District Court with altering his military discharge papers after the Houston Chronicle reported that he had been lying about his Army record and falsely claiming a Silver Star and other medals. A federal grand jury indicted Paul A. Schroeder, 40, of The Woodlands, on 28 JUN for unlawfully possessing and exhibiting a certificate of discharge from the military, knowing the same to be forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered. The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. In his job at the nonprofit PTSD Foundation of America, Schroeder mentored veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and led group therapy sessions at local churches and the Star of Hope Mission. He also lectured at least half a dozen times at the Houston Police Academy as part of a post-traumatic stress awareness program for officers and cadets. The Army veteran portrayed himself as a highly decorated Special Forces sergeant first class who suffered from PTSD after serving in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Central and South America. In fact, Schroeder had served 10 years as a military policeman stationed in New York, Panama and Texas. He left the Army as a sergeant in February 2001, before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan even started. Schroeder resigned from PTSD Foundation in February after confessing to a Chronicle reporter that he had lied about his record. In an interview with the Chronicle at the time, he said he didn t know why he misled people about his service record and medals. You can call it a desperate act of a desperate man, he said. I m trying to do the honorable thing now. Stolen Valor Grady Wayne Nations [Source: NavyTimes Mark D. Faram article 27 Jun 2012] Forwarding via in personal communications is authorized.) A Navy Reserve recruiter and wannabe country music star has been charged with wearing the Distinguished Flying Cross and another award he didn t earn, and lying about them to investigators. Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class (NAC) Grady Wayne Nations, 43, was charged 8 JUN with violating Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for wearing a DFC and a Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon. He wore the DFC between Jan 1, 2010, and Sept. 23, 2011, and the Coast Guard ribbon from Jan 19, 2008, to Sept. 27, 2011, the charges state. He also is accused of lying under Article 107 for presenting the allegedly forged DFC certificate to his command on or about Sept. 20, 2010, for inclusion in his record. He s also is accused of lying to investigators by saying he believed the certificate was valid and he was authorized to wear the award when he knew otherwise. His trial is tentatively set for Aug. 13, and sources told Navy Times he could face up to 12 years confinement if convicted on all charges. Not only did Nations allegedly submit the forged DFC certificate to his superiors, they apparently approved it and sent it on to Navy Personnel Command, where it was included in his permanent service record. NPC officials said quality control of documents lies with the submitting commands, though they do investigate when the authenticity of records is in question. It s not uncommon for such documents to include awards and qualifications that are not documented elsewhere, officials say. They stressed that it is up to the submitting commands to verify the information on those documents prior to sending them to NPC. Because Nations end-of-service document was updated in his permanent record at the same time the allegedly forged DFC certificate was put there, a number of other awards listed on that document that don t have other substantiating entries were called into question. For a year after the update, Nations freely wore the DFC ribbon and occasionally the medal until some peers at NOSC Nashville contacted Navy Times to find out whether the award was real. They knew the certificate was in his record, but no one had actually seen it Nations, they said, held it close. At the time of the alleged DFC award, Nations was a third class petty officer at Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 in Norfolk, Virginia. The certificate cites action that took place Nov. 11, 1991, and says the award was approved Dec. 30, There is no mention in Nations service record that indicates he deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991, or ever, during his nearly four years at VRC-40, according to NPC. Credit Report Scam Better Business Bureau Scam Report Check your credit and/or debit card statements closely. Consumers nationwide are finding charges for $19.95 or more for credit reports they never ordered. The charges appear to be from Experian, Consumerinfo.com or Creditreport.com. Creditreport.com is part of a family of credit reporting sites belonging to Consumerinfo.com, Inc. an Experian company. Falsely charged consumers contacted Experian at the phone number listed on their debit/credit card statement and learned that their card number was used to purchase a credit report for another person. The false charges likely stemmed from a security breach. If you spot a charge on your statement from Experian, Consumerinfo. com or Creditreport.com, you should: Call the number listed next to the merchant s name on your credit or debit card statements. The representative will ask for your name and debit or credit card number. If your name and the name on the purchased credit report are not the same, a refund will be issued within 7-14 days. The representative may also ask for your social security number for further verification. Immediately contact your debit or credit card issuer to report the misuse and request a new card. Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their ID Theft Clearinghouse at ftc.gov/idtheft. This will allow the FTC to identify patterns associated with the unauthorized transactions and investigate the source of the data breach.

18 18 T EXAS VV N EWS VETERANS ISSUES VA Pension/Disability Source: vetsfirst.org & CalVet Oct 2012 VA Pension by definition says that the person does not have and can not hold gainful employment due to disability and their total income is below the threshold set by law and regulation. The rules for working on a VA Disability are not so cut and dry and vary with the type of service compensation and each veteran s circumstances. There are several types of VA Service Compensation 100% disability for work purposes % Scheduler rated 100% for physical disabilities based on the VA CFR schedule. Disabled veterans on a 100% scheduler disability can work without limitations except where the definition of the disability makes the presumption that the veteran is unable to hold a job % TDIU Individual Unemployability You are only allowed to be marginally employed. You can only make a certain amount of money, and if you make more than that marginally amount of money, your IU rating will be reviewed for possible reduction in your current rating! % Scheduler for PTSD or To assist veterans with appeals pending the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board or BVA) provides a customer service home page at OMBUDSMAN_CustomerService.asp. The Status help desk is under the Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals and the Director of Administration. The help desk has been set up to answer your questions, give a status on your case, or direct you to the best possible referral source to answer your questions. They will monitor the issues you raise and provide that information to the Chairman and Director. This is not a chat room, so they are unable to communicate with you as you type. They do however, acknowledge, and respond to every sent. The s are answered in the order in which they are received. For an status report on your claim before the Board o state your name, file number and request, and click on the Ask a Question tab near the bottom of the webpage. If you claim is not before the Board, note the contact numbers or for your appropriate Regional Office. All Facebook, Twitter, and other psychiatric disability Veterans receiving 100% disability for PTSD may not work, as that is part of the definition of 100% disabled by psychiatric disability. The definition of 100% PTSD is, Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name % TDIU Individual Unemployability The PTSD 70% definition is, Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; nearcontinuous panic or depression affecting VA Appeals Internet addresses will not be answered, nor will political statements, and they will be deleted. They may request verifying information to protect the privacy of our Veterans. The Board also can be reached M-F EST of by FAX: or mail: Board of Veterans Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue, North West, Washington, D.C For issues other than determining appeal status the following guidance is offered: Once BVA issues a decision (including a remand, i.e., sent back to be redone properly), it no longer has the authority to act on the appeal. Contact the Appeals Management Center (AMC) mailto: amcdirmailbox@va.gov, your local Regional Office (VARO) CustomerService/States.doc or your representative (if you have one to advocate on your behalf). If your residence is in a foreign country, contact the VBA Foreign Service Program bln/21/foreign/index.htm If you are seeking legal assistance with a claim, contact your local Regional the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. You can see that even at 70% employment is not consistent with the rating, and at 100%, inability to perform activities of daily living and Total occupational and social impairment says that work is an issue. Having this problem implies a person is unable to work. Veterans should exercise caution even if working as a volunteer. If the VA determines that the nature and amount of unpaid work that you are performing demonstrates that you are not unemployable, TDIU can be revoked. Anytime the VA revokes a TDIU rating, the amount of disability compensation drops to the level of the veteran s actual rating under the rating schedule. There are laws and regulations that Office at bln/21/ro/rocontacts.htm for a list of Veterans Service Organizations in your area. If you owe the VA money, contact the Debt Management Center va.gov/finance/dmc.asp If you wish to report fraud, waste or abuse in any VA program, contact the VA Office of Inspector General If you have an original education claim, contact the VA Educational Benefits Program If you have an original home loan guarantee claim, contact the VA Home Loan Program va.gov/homeloans If you have an original VA life insurance claim, contact the VA Life Insurance Program va.gov/miscellaneous/index.htm If you have an original claim as a surviving spouse or dependent, contact the VA Veterans Services Outreach or your local Regional Office vba.va.gov/bln/dependents/index.htm If you have an original request for burial protect VA disability ratings that have been in place for certain periods of time. If a VA award of service connection for a disability has been in effect for ten years or more, absent evidence of fraud in applying for compensation for that disability, the VA may not revoke service connection but can reduce the rating percentage. Similarly, if a specific rating percentage has been in effect for 20 years or more, absent evidence of fraud, the VA may not revoke service connection nor reduce that rating. Bottom line, veterans assigned a VA disability rating are subject to reevaluation based on employment or improved condition. Lowering a rating is possible up to a point and the criteria for lowering can vary with each veteran s circumstances. The type and duration of any work is a major factor in the VA s decision on whether to lower or remove a preassigned percentage. If in doubt check with your assigned primary physician and/or local VARO for clarification on any limitations placed on you regarding employment or voluntary endeavors. and memorial benefits, contact the VA National Cemetery Administration If you are seeking copies of your military records, contact the National Personnel Records Center gov/veterans/military-servicerecords/standard-form-180.html If you are seeking a medal upgrade, contact the appropriate military department Public Affairs Office. If you are seeking information about an upgrade or review of your discharge, complete the application form at Military Discharge Upgrade infomgt/forms/eforms/dd0293.pdf If you are seeking a correction of your military records, complete the application form at Correction of Military Records mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/ forminfo/forminfopage2137.html If you would like to have a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge, consider requesting a video hearing VideoHearing-WebFlyer.pdf

19 T EXAS VV N EWS 19 Commissary Elimination [Source: NAUS Weekly Update 6 Apr 2012] Those authorized to shop in these two venues saved nearly $5 billion last year. It is one of the most utilized and beneficial benefits earned by those on active duty and retired. You should know the benefits of shopping in the Commissary and Exchanges is increasingly being attacked by those who think they know better and want to reduce funds for these activities. The Armed Forces Marketing Council and the American Logistics Association Men who served in the military carry a heavier health burden than non-veterans. According to a CDC report released today, veterans are significantly more likely to have two or more chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, as well as other health problems. Nearly 1 in 5 vets between the ages of 45 and 54 reported at least two chronic conditions compared to less than 15% of non-veterans. Close to 1 in 3 former service members who are 55 to 64 said they had more than one chronic disease compared to one-quarter of men who never served. The effects of military service on physical and psychological health, especially after extended overseas deployments, are complex, write the researchers. There may also be long-term consequences of have gotten together and have started a website where you can join the Coalition to help save these valuable benefits. Readers are encouraged to go to the Save our Benefits homepage Home_Page.html and join. Your help is needed to show those members of Congress that the Commissary and Exchange are very valuable benefits that need to be preserved. In an unrelated intrusion into the military service for the health and health care utilization of veterans as they age. The report was produced by the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the CDC. It draws on data from the National Health Interview Survey, and it covers veterans aged 25 to 64, directly comparing their health with that of nonveterans. Overall, the researchers write, veterans aged appear to be in poorer health than non-veterans, although not all differences in health are significant for all age groups. While younger veterans those aged 25 to 34 showed few differences with their non-veteran counterparts, some significant disparities appear as they get older. The health differences that appear at older ages suggest that the military community s benefits the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Fort Myer, VA, recently announced an exception to policy that allows non-department of Defense federal employees residing in proximity to Joint Base Myer- Henderson Hall to use bowling center, club pools and tennis courts, as well as access to dining at the clubs or picnic areas, wedding packages and special event equipment rental, including grills Vet Long Term Health Outlook [Source: WebMD Health News Matt McMillen article 2 Aug 2012] effects of military service on health may appear later in life, the researchers write. Starting at age 35, veterans report having more work problems related to physical, mental, or emotional issues. As a group, 18% of veterans report that such problems limit the type or amount of work they can do, compared to 10% of non-veterans. This was especially pronounced among vets between the ages of 45 and 54. Veterans in that latter age group were also more likely to report other serious health problems. While veterans in general described their health as fair or poor more often than men who never served (16% compared to 10%), those between 45 and 54 were the most likely to do so. Serious psychological distress also struck 45 to 54-year-old veterans with VA Lawsuit Edgewood [Source: Courthouse News article 23 Jul 2012] and tents. Non-DoD federal employees still must provide proper identification and their official ID cards for entry. This wrongheaded decision severely waters down the benefits earned for a career in the military. It forces active duty troops, retirees and survivors to compete with many more civilians for spots in the gym, pool and other scarce MWR resources elsewhere on base. Bad judgment call and a dangerous precedent that other activities might try to emulate. greater frequency than other age groups. They were the only age group to report significantly higher amounts of such distress defined by the researchers as unspecified but potentially diagnosable mental illness compared to nonveterans. The researchers note that this report only considers people with the most severe psychological distress. Other measures of mental health that capture a wider range of mental disorders might show more differences between veterans and non-veterans. Nearly 9 out of 10 surveyed men who served in the military carry health insurance. That s significantly higher than nonveterans, and, the authors write, it may influence their access to health care and the likelihood of being diagnosed with various conditions. Veterans won another court order in VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA, et al. (Plaintiffs), v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, et al (Defendants), requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hand over more documents about its Cold Warera drug experiments on thousands of Vietnam veterans. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in Oakland, Calif., said the documents requested were squarely relevant to the claim that the government failed to adequately notify veterans of the chemicals they were exposed to and what that exposure might do to their health. The Army and the CIA, with the help of Nazi scientists, used at least 7,800 veterans as human guinea pigs for testing the effects of up to 400 types of drugs and chemicals, including mescaline, LSD, amphetamines, barbituates, mustard gas and nerve agents, the Vietnam Veterans of America and individual soldiers claim in a 2009 class action previously reported at com/2009/01/08/12414.htm. The government covered up the true nature of its experiments, which began in the 1950s under code names such as Bluebird, Artichoke and MKUltra. In Project Paperclip, the Army and CIA allegedly recruited Nazi scientists to help test various psychochemicals and develop a new truth serum using its own veterans as test subjects. Over half of these Nazi recruits had been members of the SS or Nazi Party, according to the class action. The Paperclip name was chosen because so many of the employment applications were clipped to immigration papers. Veterans say the government was trying to develop and test substances that could trigger mind control, confusion, euphoria, altered personality, unconsciousness, physical paralysis, illogical thinking and mania, among other effects. The experiments in Army compounds at Edgewood Arsenal and Fort Detrick, Md., left many veterans with debilitating health problems for decades. Veterans say the government has since refused to provide proper medical care. In their latest bid for disclosure, the Vietnam Veterans of America sought documents revealing the VA s processes of identifying and notifying soldiers who were potentially exposed during the chemical and biological tests. The VA department claimed the documents were shielded by the deliberative process privilege, which protects the decision-making processes of government agencies. As in previous rulings, ( com/2012/04/09/45455.htm) Corley ordered the VA to turn over most of the documents requested. She said the privilege either did not apply to the documents sought, or the veterans have demonstrated a sufficient substantial need to overcome the qualified deliberative process privilege. Corley rejected the VA s claim that the plaintiffs already have an abundance of information and documents about its notification and verification processes. The Court agrees that considerable discovery has been provided on this subject; however, having reviewed the thousands of pages of documents submitted for in camera review, the Court notes that these processes are far from clear or consistent, and in fact, seem to have undergone numerous modifications over time, Corley wrote. She ordered the VA to disclose more than 40 documents, which she deemed both relevant and unavailable from other sources given that the documents reflect processes which have evolved over time. However, Corley ruled that the VA need not reimburse the plaintiffs for the costs of resuming two depositions. Refer to Case No.: 09-cv-0037 CW (JSC).

20 20 T EXAS VV N EWS VA Claims Backlog Houston Chronicle Lindsay Wise article Despite more funding and staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the backlog of disability claims in Houston has more than doubled since this time three years ago. More than 37,100 claims are pending at the Houston VA Regional Office, up from 17,537 in Veterans wait an average of 263 days for the office to process their claims, according to data obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The Houston regional office is one of only two VA facilities in Texas that process veterans disability claims. The other office is in Waco, where the problem is even worse: More than 51,000 veterans face an average wait of 352 days for the Waco VA Regional Office to act on their claims. Nearly one-year delays in VA processing of veterans claims are intolerable, said U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). Such delays can have terrible effects on veterans and their families, said Hutchison, who serves on an appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding VA. The men and women who have answered our nation s call deserve better. It s past time for the VA to fix these claims processing problems, which are delaying needed assistance to thousands of Texas veterans. The data also outraged veterans advocates, who say the long wait times The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor (DoL) are working together to roll out the new Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) program on July 1, The VRAP offers 12 months of training assistance to Veterans who: Are at least 35 but no more than 60 years old Are unemployed Received an other than dishonorable discharge Are not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program (e.g.: the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Assistance) Are not in receipt of VA compensation due to unemployability Are not enrolled in a federal or state job training program. The program is limited to 45,000 participants during fiscal year 2012, and to 54,000 participants from October 1, 2012, through March 31, Participants renege on a promise made by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to break the back of the backlog. In 2010, Shinseki announced VA had set an ambitious goal: no claim pending for more than 125 days and a 98 percent accuracy rate. In Houston, 73 percent of claims now are pending for longer than 125 days, compared to 65 percent nationwide. I think it s leadership failure across the board, said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the nonprofit group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He said President Barack Obama needs to tackle the problem. He needs to not make excuses and not accept failure and deliver for our veterans, Rieckhoff said. Our veterans went overseas and when they come home and face a wait time of over a year, that s just unacceptable. VA spokeswoman Jessica Jacobsen said the department has completed a record number of disability claims more than 1 million nationwide in each of the past two years by adding employees, technology and training. The flow of incoming claims has grown at an even faster pace, however, from 888,000 in 2008, to 1.3 million last year. Jacobsen attributed the record backlog to a number of factors, including a poor economy, an aging veterans population and increased demand after 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. VA also has had to allocate significant resources to processing hundreds of thousands of new claims filed by Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, she said. Despite these challenges, Jacobsen said VA is on target to eliminate the backlog by To speed up the process, a program called Express Lane was introduced by the Houston VA Regional Office. This Express Lane program is similar to a 10 items or less lanes at a grocery store, which is geared to expedite those claims with fewer claimed conditions and reduce the overall amount of pending inventory, Jacobsen said. But even in Houston s so-called express lane, the average processing time for a claim is 198 days, well over the department s target of 125 days. Another concern is the number of Texas veterans who have claims in appeal, a figure that increased by 90 percent from 13,746 in 2004 to 26,248 today. Nationwide, appeals went up from 154,297 to 253,653 during the same time period. Veterans who waited more than a year for a decision on their claims often must wait another four to five years for VA to decide an appealed case, said Paul Sullivan, a spokesman for Bergmann & Moore, a Maryland law firm that represents For veterans with post Veterans Retraining Assistance Program Source: May 2012 will receive a monthly payment equal to the full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty program (currently $1,473 per month). The benefit will be paid directly to you and you are responsible for paying your expenses including tuition, fees, and books. The Department of Labor will offer employment assistance to every Veteran who participates or applies to the VRAP program. Participants must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school. The program must lead to an Associate Degree, Non- College Degree, or a Certificate, and train the Veteran for a high demand occupation. VRAP will provide training for programs of education that lead to a high demand occupation, as determined by the Department of Labor. At gibill.va.gov/documents/vrap_high_ Demand.pdf can be found a breakdown of positions covered in the following: Management Occupations Business and Financial Operations Computer and Mathematical Occupations Architecture and Engineering Occupations Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations Community and Social Services Occupations Legal Occupations Education, Training, and Library Occupations Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations Healthcare Support Occupations Protective Service Occupations Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations Personal Care and Service Occupations Sales and Related Occupations Office and Administrative Support Occupations VA Fiduciary Program traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or who are unemployable, VA s nationwide claim and appeal crisis causes serious harm to more than 1 million already vulnerable wounded, injured, ill and disabled veterans who need benefits to pay rent and buy food, as well as get free VA medical care, Sullivan said. He said he expects the crisis to last many years, as nearly 10,000 new Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans file disability claims against VA each month. The statistics are disheartening for veterans who finally overcame stigma to seek help from VA, only to be thwarted by red tape and delays. It frustrates you to the point of not wanting it anymore, said Edwin Vazquez, 33, a Navy veteran from Houston who waited a year and a half for VA to process a disability claim he submitted in February 2007 for Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, back and knee problems. More than five years later, Vazquez s case remains mired in the appeals process. At one point, VA lost his paperwork, he said. It feels like a game, and they re just waiting you out to see if you re just going to give up, Vazquez said. That s how a lot of us feel that it s so much bureaucracy and so much paperwork that they re just hoping you don t resubmit. Construction and Extraction Occupations Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations Production Occupations Transportation and Material Moving Occupations How to Apply The Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications on May 15, To complete the application, you will need to know your direct deposit information (bank routing number and account number), the name and location of your school, the program you wish to pursue, and the applicable high demand occupation. Go to benefits.va.gov/vow/education. htm to find out more. For veterans seeking a employment now there are extensive employment resources available for Veterans provided by the Federal Government. Visit fedshirevets.gov and the Department of Labor s to learn more. Across the country, disabled veterans families are waging bitter battles with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, trying to remove VA-appointed fiduciaries from their lives and their bank accounts. Two activist attorneys, Doug Rosinski, of Columbia, S.C., and Katrina Eagle of San Diego, have taken on the VA in cases involving allegations of bureaucratic mistreatment. Both said regional program managers sometimes overlook the misdeeds of paid fiduciaries while coming down hard on veterans relatives who do the work for nothing. The agency s policy is that family members get priority in fiduciary appointments, but it does not always work that way. And while many family members serve successfully and thanklessly as fiduciaries for disabled veterans, some get into trouble, often because of a lack of training or knowledge of the rules. In those cases, the family s situation often becomes nightmarish. R. Dean Slicer, a top regional program manager in Indiana, boasted in a November to an Indianapolis bank official that they would have fun battling with a war veteran s daughter. Carolyn Stump, a registered nurse, was trying to free her seriously ailing 81-yearold dad, William Evans, from a fiduciary at the bank who had tangled with the family and had recently been slow paying some bills, according to court records. Slicer, who last year was promoted to oversee the fiduciary program in 13 states, declined to comment. Obviously there are stories that we are going to look into, said VA spokesman Joshua Taylor when asked about that case and others. Veterans are rarely successful in winning control of their finances back from the fiduciary program. The VA had long held that beneficiaries had no right of appeal.

21 T EXAS VV N EWS 21 But in April 2011, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims agreed with Rosinski s argument that there is an appeal right. Armed with that ruling, he is trying to win release for his client, disabled Dallas veteran William Freeman, from a complete stranger appointed as his fiduciary. The judges chided Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki for his department s failure to explain its handling of Freeman. Joe Boatman, of Round Rock, Texas, also never got an explanation why James Andrews, a fiduciary program official based in Waco, showed up at his house last July to berate his wife for the way she had handled their finances as her husband s appointed fiduciary for 10 years, bringing her to tears. Andrews follow-up report cited overdraft charges and questioned Boatman s access to the bank accounts. He also said no questionable expenditures or misuse of funds were identified, though he added there was no way to tell because his funds were commingled with his wife s. His report described Boatman as an alert and cogent man. Eagle said the VA had previously allowed Boatman s wife, a retired social worker, to commingle their monies. In previous reports she was praised for her handling of their finances. Andrews, who could not be reached for comment, had already appointed a new fiduciary to take over Boatman s financial affairs. Eagle said his criticisms seemed pre-ordained to justify his actions. After Eagle got involved, the VA backed away, taking the unusual step of releasing Boatman from the program. Eagle said it helped that his case was mentioned at a February congressional hearing. The VA also ordered an investigation of the case. It has not responded to a Hearst request for the report. Boatman, who was a Navy combat medic in Vietnam, chaired a committee of Vietnam veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. He challenged local Veterans Affairs officials over PTSD policies and at one point had a role in exposing an embarrassing department . I was blindsided out of nowhere, Boatman says of the fiduciary flap, but adds he does not think he was retaliated against. In the Indiana case of William Evans, Eagle said, she s sure retaliation did occur. Slicer the recently promoted regional manager and others in his office have for more than two years been waging a nasty and unresolved battle, which has gone repeatedly to a special veterans appeals court, to prevent Evans and his family from wriggling free of the fiduciary program. Stump, the veteran s daughter, had nursed Evans for more than a decade when in July 2009 she inquired about a medical guardianship. She was persuaded by federal bureaucrats to apply for a financial one, records show. She had power of attorney for her father already, and didn t think the fiduciary program was necessary, but she accepted the role, according to documents. Upset from the beginning, she wrote to her congressman about it. Her relationship with Veterans Affairs deteriorated. Still, an agency field examination in July 2010 found no questionable expenditures, a tidy home and a well-cared-for father. Behind the scenes, a wounded bureaucracy was preparing to come down on her, court records show. In October 2010, Stump was removed as fiduciary and an official at Greenfield Banking Co., Joana Springmier, was appointed. VA officials questioned Stump s failure to get prior permission to buy appliances and new flooring for her father s home, and her decision to take Evans on trips to get special medical treatment and to visit Army buddies before he slipped into the darkness of Alzheimer s. She was told the trips were emotional spending not allowed and the bank was instructed to save more money for emergencies. Stump said she saw no reason to hoard her ailing father s money with him so close to death. In a Nov. 22, to Springmier, Slicer mentioned the many congressional and other complaints filed by Mrs. Stump. He told Springmier to document any conversations you have. He cited a technical misstep: Stump s mother had refused to disclose her small Social Security allotment. So this will be a fun one, wrote Slicer. Stump said her mother was afraid that Slicer would seize her income, too. In March, Rosinski and Eagle filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, accusing the VA of punitive if not retaliatory behavior in the case. Two other Indiana families fought with Slicer s office and the bank, including Vicki Olson, of Fort Wayne, who won freedom from the program for her husband in a protracted battle that caused her to become a volunteer advocate for other veterans. VA Fiduciary Program Update They survived the Nazis, the Viet Cong and the Taliban, But hundreds of mentally disabled veterans suffered new wounds when the country they served put their checkbooks in the hands of scoundrels. Gambling addicts, psychiatric cases and convicted criminals are among the thieves that have been handed control of disabled veterans finances by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a Hearst Newspapers investigation has found. For decades, theft and fraud have plagued the fiduciary program, in which the VA appoints a family member or a stranger to manage money for veterans the government considers incapacitated. The magnitude and pace of those thefts has increased, despite VA promises of reform. Three of the largest scams ranging from about $900,000 to $2 million each persisted for 10 years or more before being discovered. In the last six years, the VA has removed 467 fiduciaries for misuse of funds, but only a fraction have faced criminal charges, a Hearst analysis of data from the VA s Office of the Inspector General shows. The government has never adequately tracked fiduciaries thefts from brain-damaged or memory-impaired veterans. The inspector general s office says it conducted 315 fiduciary fraud investigations from October 1998 to March 2010, resulting in 132 arrests for thefts amounting to $7.4 million. But a Hearst analysis of court records and documents obtained by freedom of information requests shows that the thieves take since 1998 is more than $14.7 million nearly twice the amount reported to Congress. VA spokesman Joshua Taylor says the program is being reorganized, and improvements are being ordered every year. VA has taken significant efforts to protect veterans and other beneficiaries in its fiduciary program, said Taylor. Agent Orange & Hypertension [Source: VA News Release 19 Jun ] A new Army Chemical Corps Vietnam- Era Veterans Health Study is designed to learn if high blood pressure (hypertension) and some chronic respiratory diseases are related to herbicide exposure during the Vietnam War. This study follows a request by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki for VA to conduct research on the association between herbicide exposure and high blood pressure (hypertension), as a basis for understanding if hypertension is related to military service in Vietnam. VA is also interested in learning more about the relationship between herbicide exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study is a follow-up of a similar study conducted between where the health status of individuals who served in the Army Chemical Corps since the 1990s was examined. Researchers have two questions: Is the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) related to Agent Orange exposure during service in Vietnam? Is the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, related to Agent Orange exposure during service in Vietnam? Approximately 4,000 Veterans who served in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps sometime during the Vietnam era ( ) were asked to participate in this study. Army Chemical Corps personnel were responsible for the maintenance and distribution or application of chemicals for military operations. Army Chemical Corps personnel who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War constitute the largest group of Army Vietnam Veterans who were thought to have had the greatest potential exposure to herbicides. Participants from earlier Army Chemical Corps study rosters were selected and additional volunteers are not needed. Each Veteran selected for this study represents other Veterans with similar characteristics. Study methods will include telephone interviews, reviewing medical records, and measuring the blood pressure and lung function of the selected Veterans. VA Agent Orange Claims The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that nearly 230,000 claims have already been processed for the three newest Agent-Orange related conditions through June 2012, including over 150,000 claims required to be adjudicated under the order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The near completion of these complex Nehmer claims enables VA to redirect 1,200 employees who were dedicated to reviewing the Agent Orange cases toward addressing the current backlog of disability claims. I am proud of our VA employees who worked hard to complete these Agent Orange claims, putting over $3.6 billion into the hands of our Vietnam Veterans and their survivors, said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. We completed all of the Agent Orange Nehmer claims for living Veterans, and are now focusing on the fewer than 500 remaining that will benefit survivors. The Agent Orange claims stemmed from VA s 2010 amendment of its regulations to add ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other chronic B-cell leukemias, and Parkinson s disease to the list of diseases presumed to be related to exposure to the herbicide used in Southeast Asia. While we work to transform how we do business through new processes and technology, at the end of the day it s about taking care of our Veterans and their loved ones on the issues affecting their lives, said Secretary Shinseki. Given the complexity of the historical casework, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) allocated its most experienced decision makers, about 37 percent of its rating staff, to processing Agent Orange claims. VBA s 13 resource centers were exclusively dedicated to re-adjudicating these claims. Even with this allocation of 37 percent of the rating staff dedicated to Agent Orange claims, VA processed over 1 million disability claims in each of the last 2 years, an unprecedented number. Incoming claims over the last ten years have nearly doubled, said VA Under Secretary for Benefits, Allison A. Hickey. Being able to refocus these skilled raters on the backlog is vitally important. In addition to redirecting its rating staff, VA has developed a comprehensive transformation plan to achieve in 2015 Secretary Shinseki s goal of completing claims within 125 days at 98 percent accuracy. The plan is built on more than 40 designed, tested, and measured people, processing, and technology initiatives. VA is now beginning the nationwide rollout of its new operating model and electronic processing system, known as the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). All regional offices will be operating under the new model and using the new processing system by the end of VA has established a website, to assist Veterans in filing claims for the three new conditions related to the effects of Agent Orange exposure. It guides Veterans through automated, program-assisted menus to capture the information and medical evidence needed for faster claims decision. Potentially eligible Veterans include those who were exposed based on duty or visitation in Vietnam or on its inland waterways between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975; exposed along the demilitarized zone in Korea between April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971; or exposed due to herbicide tests and storage at military bases within and outside of the United States.

22 22 T EXAS VV N EWS Veterans Health Issues [Source: VA News Release 1 Oct ] Flu Shots As the time to get your flu vaccine has approached, a surprising new report shows babies and toddlers seem to be getting protected better than the rest of us. Government officials claim that last year s flu shot won t shield you this year as there are two new strains of influenza which have begun circling the globe, but the updated vaccine appears to work well against them. A yearly vaccination now is recommended for nearly everybody. The only ones who shouldn t get vaccinated: babies younger than 6 months and people with severe allergies to the eggs used to make the vaccine. Flu specialists can t say how bad this winter s flu season might be. Influenza strains constantly evolve, and some cause more illness than others. But strains from the H3N2 family tend to be harsher than some other flu types, and a new H3N2 strain is included in this year s vaccine because it is circulating in parts of the world. VA Diabetes Mellitus Care Health officials at the Veterans Administration unveiled a pilot program 5 OCT aimed at reducing the rate of diabetes among military veterans. The 16-week program for overweight or obese people with pre-diabetes helps them get more exercise, improve their eating habits and lose weight. The program is expanding to include VA medical centers across the country. Vietnam veteran Jon Soder, who has diabetes, says the program helped him lose 85 pounds and improve his health. Before he participated in the program, Soder said he was unable to walk. Now he walks on his own. I used to take three different kinds of diabetes medicine, and now I only take one, he said And I used to take two kinds of cholesterol medicine and now I don t take any, so there was a real benefit from it. When the program was tested at YMCAs in St. Paul and Indianapolis, it reduced the diabetes rate among participants by 58 percent. U.S. Sen. Al Franken, (D-MN), who participated in the announcement, said helping the clients improve their health also leads to dramatically lower medical costs. To put someone through this program costs 300 bucks. Fifty-eight percent fewer become diabetic, and save $6,200 a year. That is what prevention is about, Franken said. About one-fourth of the nation s veterans have type 2 diabetes. VA Cancer Treatment The Department of Veterans Affairs leads the Nation in breast cancer screening rates and has outperformed non-va health care systems in breast cancer screenings for more than 15 years, with 87 percent of eligible women receiving mammograms in the VA health care system in fiscal year In comparison, in 2010, the private sector screened 71 percent of eligible women, Medicare screened 69 percent and Medicaid screened 51 percent, according to Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, a tool used by more than 90 percent of U.S. health plans to measure performance on important dimensions of care and service. We re proud of our great record on breast cancer screenings and treatments, said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. We ll continue to work to improve access and coordination of care for women Veterans. Since 2000, the number of female Veterans using VA health care has more than doubled, from nearly 160,000 to more than 337,000 in fiscal year As the number of women Veterans increases rapidly, VA not only focuses on improving access to breast screenings and coordination of care, but also trains providers in the latest breast exam techniques. VA provides mammograms for all Veterans, with 45 facilities providing services on-site utilizing digital mammography. Some facilities offer mammograms to walk-in patients and same-day ultrasounds.va also offers mobile mammography in some areas of the country. This mammogram technologyon-wheels allows women Veterans in rural areas to get screening mammograms and have their mammograms read by a VA breast radiologist, without traveling far from home. All this improves access for more than 337,000 women VA health care users. VA is different from other health care systems in that we serve a female population that is spread across the continental United States, located in both rural and urban areas, said Dr. Patricia Hayes, Chief Consultant for VA s Women s Health Services. Because of that we have to be creative and innovative about the way we provide screenings, track a woman s mammogram results and breast cancer care, and train our providers in the latest diagnostic techniques and Flag Presentation U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website breast cancer treatments. In many cases, VA is using technology to bridge the distance between providers at facilities in its 21 regions throughout the nation. VA uses simulation technology to train VA providers in the latest breast exam techniques. VA is also developing a breast cancer clinical case registry to track when a provider orders a mammogram, the results of the test, and the follow-up care provided. The system will improve care coordination and help VA track and study breast care outcomes throughout VA. It is expected to be available in These efforts in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment are part of a larger VA initiative to enhance all health care services for women Veterans. Women make up six percent of Veterans who use VA health care, but they are expected to make up a larger segment of all VA health care users in the future. VA is preparing for this increase by expanding access to care, enhancing facilities, training staff, and improving services for women. Expanded outreach to women Veterans is another goal in the initiative, and VA s Women s Health Services regularly creates posters and messages to educate women Veterans about key women s health issues. In celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, VA reminds patients and providers about the importance of early detection. For more information about VA programs and services for women Veterans, visit: va.gov/womenvet and womenshealth.va.gov. Displaying the American flag on special holidays or as a daily tribute is a well-loved tradition; however, many people do not understand all the proper flag display guidelines. Public Law , known as the Federal Flag Code, contains rules for handling and displaying the U.S. Flag. While the federal code contains no penalties for misusing the flag, states have their own flag codes and may impose penalties. The language of the federal code makes clear that the flag is a living symbol. In response to a Supreme Court decision, which held that a state law prohibiting flag burning was unconstitutional, Congress enacted the Flag Protection Act in It provides that anyone who knowingly desecrates the flag may be fined and/or imprisoned for up to one year. However, this law was challenged by the Supreme Court in a 1990 decision that the Flag Protection Act violates the First Amendment free speech protections. Important Things to Remember Traditional guidelines call for displaying the flag in public only from sunrise to sunset. However, the flag may be displayed at all times if it s illuminated during darkness. The flag should not be subject to weather damage, so it should not be displayed during rain, snow and wind storms unless it is an all-weather flag. It should be displayed often, but especially on national and state holidays and special occasions. The flag should be displayed on or near the main building of public institutions, schools during school days, and polling places on election days. It should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously. When carried in procession with other flags, the U.S. flag should be either on the marching right (the flag s right) or to the front and center of the flag line. When displayed on a float in a parade, the flag should be hung from a staff or suspended so it falls free. It should not be draped over a vehicle. When displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, the U.S. flag should be on its own right (left to a person facing the wall) and its staff should be in front of the other flag s staff. In a group of flags displayed from staffs, the U.S. flag should be at the center and the highest point. When flags of states, cities or organizations are flown on the same staff, the U.S. flag must be at the top (except during church services conducted at sea by Navy chaplains). When other flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the U.S. flag should be hoisted first and lowered last. It must be on the right of other flags and no other flag should stand higher than it. Flags of other nations should be flown from separate staffs. International custom dictates that flags of different nations be displayed at the same height in peacetime and be approximately the same size. If the flag is suspended outdoors from a rope stretched from a building to a pole, the flag should be hoisted out from the building with the union first. When the flag is displayed other than from a staff, it should be flat or suspended so that it falls free. When displayed against something, such as a wall, the union should be at the top and to the flag s own right, the observer s left - whether displayed horizontally or vertically. When displayed over a street or sidewalk, where it can be seen from either side, be sure the union is to the north on an east-west street, and to the east on a north-south street. The same directions apply in a building lobby or corridor with entrances to the east and west or north and south. When displayed flat against the wall on a speaker s platform, the flag should be above and behind the speaker with the union on the left side as the audience looks at it (again, the flag s right). When the flag hangs from a staff in a church or public place, it should appear to the audience on the left, the speaker s right. Any other flags displayed should be placed on the opposite side of the speaker. The flag may cover a casket, but should not cover a statue or monument for unveiling. It should never be draped or drawn back in folds. Draped red, white and blue bunting should be used for decoration, with the blue at the top and red at the bottom. On a casket, the union (blue field) should be at the deceased person s head and heart, over the left shoulder. But the flag should be removed before the casket is lowered into the grave and should never touch the ground. The flag may be flown at half-staff to honor a newly deceased federal or state government official by order of the president or the governor, respectively. On Memorial Day, the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon. Whenever the flag is displayed at halfstaff, it should be first raised to the top. Lowering from half-staff is preceded by first raising it momentarily to the top. When the flag is worn out or otherwise no longer a fitting emblem for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. Out of respect for the U.S. flag, never: Dip it for any person or thing, even though state flags, regimental colors and other flags may be dipped as a mark of honor. Display it with the union down, except as a signal of distress. Let the flag touch anything beneath it: ground, floor, water, merchandise.

23 T EXAS VV N EWS 23 Carry it horizontally, but always aloft. Fasten or display it in a way that will permit it to be damaged or soiled. Place anything on the flag, including letters, insignia, or designs of any kind. Use it for holding anything. Use it as wearing apparel, bedding or drapery. It should not be used on a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be attached to the uniform of patriotic organizations, military personnel, police officers and firefighters. Use the flag for advertising or promotion purposes or print it on paper napkins, boxes or anything else intended for temporary use and discard. During the hoisting or lowering of the flag or when it passes in parade or review, Americans should stand at attention facing the flag, and place their right hand over the heart. If wearing a headdress they should remove it with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Uniformed military members render the military salute. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 contained an amendment to allow un-uniformed servicemembers, military retirees, and veterans to render a hand salute during the hoisting, lowering, or passing of the U.S. flag. Those who are not U.S. citizens should stand at attention. All such conduct toward the flag in a moving column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes. A later amendment further authorized handsalutes during the national anthem by veterans and out-of-uniform military personnel. This was included in the Defense Authorization Act of 2009, which President Bush signed on 14 OCT 08. An amendment to the 2013 NDAA is pending that would authorize veterans and active-duty military not in uniform to render the military-style hand salute during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. For nine years they flew in them, they fixed them and they treated patients in them. Now, three decades later, veterans of the 439th Tactical Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base believe those airplanes are responsible for making them sick. Unknown to the veterans, the C-123 Providers, which had previously flown in Vietnam, were contaminated with Agent Orange. We have crew members who are sick. We have crew members who have died we have people who aren t even sick yet, said retired Air Force Major Wesley T. Carter, who served as an air medical technician and flight instructor and examiner with Westover s 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron for 20 years and flew in the C-123s from 1974 to While recovering from a heart attack last April, Carter was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Then he started hearing fellow crew members were also suffering from cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Through word-ofmouth the group has compiled a list of 48 people who have diseases possibly linked to Agent Orange. They are now waging their own war to win veterans benefits for all the people who flew the C-123s who are ill and need medical or financial assistance. This would be the same benefit package given to veterans who served in Vietnam and who contract one of the presumptive illnesses know to be caused by the Agent Orange component dioxin. For its part, the Veterans Administration acknowledges the C-123s were contaminated, but it contends the Agent Orange residue could not penetrate human skin. Others say it could. Department of Veterans Affairs officials ruled in August the pilots, medical crews, mechanics and others who flew on the C-123 Providers In a proclamation issued 25 MAY, President Barack Obama urged Americans to remember the courage and sacrifice of U.S. military members who served during the Vietnam War, and he declared May 28, 2012, through November 11, 2025, as the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. In his proclamation, Obama called upon federal, state, and local officials to honor our Vietnam veterans, our fallen, our wounded, those unaccounted for, our former prisoners of war, their families, and all who served with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities during the 13-year commemoration. As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect with solemn reverence upon the valor of a generation that served with honor, Obama said in his proclamation. We pay tribute to the more than 3 million servicemen and Vet Toxic Exposure C-123 Aircraft were ineligible for benefits. But Carter s unyielding effort has pushed the agency to refer the issue to the Institute of Medicine for a special report. The Air Force is also reviewing toxicology and other studies of the C-123s. The results, due sometime this month, will be sent to Veterans Affairs for examination, Air Force officials said. In its ruling, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it was impossible for Agent Orange residue to have infected the air crews, said Laurie Tranter, department spokeswoman. We looked for secondary or residual Agent Orange exposure and there is no evidence of long-term health effects, therefore there is no presumption for Agent Orange exposure, she said. Veterans Affairs officials said dry residue of dioxin, the toxic element of Agent Orange, cannot be inhaled or absorbed and would be difficult to ingest, unlike the liquid form troops were exposed to in Vietnam. After reviewing available scientific reports, (the) VA has concluded the potential for long-term adverse health effects from Agent Orange residue in these planes was minimal. Even if crew exposure did occur, it is unlikely that sufficient amounts of dried Agent Orange residue could have entered to body to have caused harm, the department ruling said. Studies done by the Veterans Affairs office of public health said dioxin is stable in the absence of direct sunlight and does not readily cross through human skin. Even if the dried material were to come into contact with perspiration or oils on skin, the skin would act as a barrier prohibiting further penetration of (dioxin). There is a low probability that (dioxin) penetrated through the skin of these air crews, according to the office of public health. Experts question that ruling. If you delve into it, there is a high likelihood of exposure, said Wayne Dwernychuk, a retired environmental scientist with a doctorate degree who has been working in Vietnam for 30 years. Dioxin is extremely toxic and it does not degrade quickly. Scientists are still finding the chemical in Vietnamese fields that have been farmed for 30 years, said Dwernychuk, of Canada. People can ingest dioxin, absorb it and inhale the dust. Mechanics could have easily disturbed residue, anyone could put their hands or food on it and ingested it, and temperature changes could disturb the substance, he said. There was a lot of spillage of Agent Orange around the aircraft and there was spillage within the aircraft, Dwernychuk said. I think it is feasible. It is likely as not to have happened and in terms of presumptive service, it fits. Jeanne Mager Stellman, a professor at Columbia University in New York who has extensive experience in evaluating exposure of military herbicides including Agent Orange, said past testing on some of the C-123s shows amounts of dioxin on the surfaces exceed maximum recommended levels set by the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. In my opinion, there is every likelihood that you would have been exposed to both airborne herbicides and their contaminants, as well as come into contact with surfaces contaminated by these toxic substances. In my opinion, the extent and manner of exposure is analogous to that experienced by many Vietnam veterans, she wrote to Carter. Raymond J. Janke, the Belchertown veterans agent, said he has helped some win claims because of their exposure Vietnam War Commemoration Update Source: AFPS article 25 May 2012 women who left their families to serve bravely, a world away from everything they knew and everyone they loved. From Ia Drang to Khe Sanh, from Hue to Saigon and countless villages in between, they pushed through jungles and rice paddies, heat and monsoon, fighting heroically to protect the ideals we hold dear as Americans, the president continued. Through more than a decade of combat, over air, land, and sea, these proud Americans upheld the highest traditions of our armed forces. Today, grateful Americans honor more than 58,000 patriots their names etched in black granite who sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know, Obama said. We draw inspiration from the heroes who suffered unspeakably as prisoners of war, yet who returned home with their heads held high. We pledge to keep faith with those who were wounded and still carry the scars of war, seen and unseen. With more than 1,600 of our service members still among the missing, we pledge as a nation to do everything in our power to bring these patriots home. In the reflection of The Wall, he continued, we see the military family members and veterans who carry a pain that may never fade. May they find peace in knowing their loved ones endure, not only in medals and memories, but in the hearts of all Americans, who are forever grateful for their service, valor, and sacrifice. Obama urged citizens to renew our sacred commitment to those who answered our country s call in Vietnam and those who awaited their safe return. Beginning on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, he said, the federal government will partner with local governments, private organizations, and communities across America to participate in the to Agent Orange and is now working with a handful of Westover veterans who worked on the C-123s. But he has had no success when filing a claim for the Westover veterans. The number of people who actually would be eligible for benefits is lower because some served in Vietnam and are already covered, others died, some will never fall ill and a number will never be contacted, he said. We are a small amount of people, but I think the VA does not want to provide any more benefits, Harris said. I think it is a political and money decision, not whether we were exposed or not. No one doubts the evidence showing the planes were contaminated with Agent Orange. Every agency and institution with the exception of the VA has seen this, Battista said. You scratch your head and wonder why we are having this fight. Carter said he understands the dangers of dioxin were not confirmed until the late 1970s, but is frustrated that crews who flew the planes for hundreds of hours were never told about their exposure once tests established Agent Orange was still present. Why didn t they tell us? How could our brother officers reach a conclusion like that and fail to notify us? Carter said. The lack of notification was not an oversight. In an Oct. 30, 1996, memo, the Air Force assistant staff judge advocate [Moul] recommended against sharing the information, Carter said. I do not believe we should alert anyone outside of official channels of this potential problem until we fully determine its extent, the memo said. Jonathan Stock, an Air Force medical service spokesman, could not comment on the lack of notification, but said the Air Force is reviewing the studies of the C-123s. Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. The 13-year commemoration, he added, will honor and give thanks to a generation of proud Americans who saw our country through one of the most challenging missions we have ever faced. No amount of words will ever be enough or fully worthy in praising military members for their service in the Vietnam War, nor any honor truly befitting their sacrifice, Obama said. However, it is never too late to pay tribute to the men and women who answered the call of duty with courage and valor, he said, adding it s also important to renew our commitment to the fullest possible accounting for those who have not returned. Obama urged all Americans to provide our Vietnam veterans, their families, and all who have served the fullest respect and support of a grateful nation.

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